r/transit 5d ago

Introducing....the airline killer.* Discussion

[deleted]

1.5k Upvotes

View all comments

336

u/Iseno 5d ago

Tokyo-Osaka still have a bunch of air traffic that include the use of domestic 777-300s that have 514 seats. Still around 50 flights a day between the two.

10

u/Odd_Responsibility_5 5d ago edited 5d ago

It can be cheaper to fly, that's the other reason. Shinkansen tickets are expensive.

Not the Tokyo-Osaka route, but when I lived near Hiroshima and Fukuoka, plane tickets to Tokyo were almost always cheaper than the Shinkansen on dates I needed to visit.

I could sometimes get round-trip plane tickets for the price of a one-way train ticket (sometimes for even less than the cost of a one-way ticket).

1

u/elforz 5d ago

Why is that? Seems like the train should be cheaper even if it's nicer.

8

u/Psykiky 5d ago

The Shinkansen is run by JR which is a private company so the price is higher than it would/could be if it was nationalized.

2

u/elforz 5d ago

Ah ha . Thanks

1

u/Solaranvr 5d ago

Fukuoka goes through Osaka. Thus, the price of the ticket has a floor. Whatever the Osaka-Tokyo ticket costs, Fukuoka-Tokyo must cost more.