MIA to Asia Route 2 yrs Away

MIA is expanding its search of Asian air carriers to create a direct flight to Asia. After meeting with Japan Airlines to market a Tokyo-Miami connection, MIA has continued to look at all Asian carriers who are interested in servicing Miami with an Asian link.

“We’re about two years out from a direct flight to Asia, but I hope I’m wrong,” said Emilio Gonzalez, county aviation director.
“We’ve been working on this for about a year. It’s something that we initiated because we want to expand our route network from just being north-south, to a more global airport,” Mr. Gonzalez said.

Demand for a direct flight to Asia has been high, and MIA is interested in serving both passenger and cargo flights.
In the past ten years, Asian cargo flights and tonnage have more than doubled. The most recent figures show that nearly 100,000 tons of cargo flow between MIA and Asia annually, at a value of $5.2 billion, the airport said.
“Right now all of the cargo carriers are one-stop, usually at Anchorage,” Mr. Gonzalez said.
Miami is now the busiest US market for leisure and business travel from Asia that does not have nonstop passenger service, according to an independent study by Sabre AirVision Market Intelligence.
More than 415,000 travelers made connecting flights between Asia and Miami in 2015, which ranked Miami 15th among all US cities.
To address the passenger and cargo demand, MIA is expanding its search and reaching out to any airlines that might have a vested interest in a direct flight to Miami:
“We’re going to pitch to all of the airlines,” Mr. Gonzalez said. “We do our due diligence; we look at airlines expanding routes into the US and refurbishing fleets, and then we get in front of the process and market ourselves to them, just like any business.”
Up to now, the main obstacle to non-stop service has been finding an aircraft capable of traveling the long distance without refueling, he said.
In June, MIA welcomed the first nonstop flight from Asia when Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen flew in from Taipei, confirming that the 8,628-mile, 17-hour flight was possible.

The most promising connection so far has been a NRT - MIA

“I would welcome a Miami-Tokyo route because it’s the closest route; the travel time would be about 14 hours,” Mr. Gonzalez said.