Activities & latest news in Japan

American Airlines Expands Routes for Summer 2025 - Get Ready for a European Adventure 

Just as you’re cozying up with pumpkin spice lattes and oversized scarves, American Airlines is plotting something big for your summer 2025 travel plans. Forget raking leaves; it's time to plan your escape to Europe. AA is adding five brand-new routes to its European network, and trust us, you’ll want to pack your bags for these destinations: Edinburgh, Athens, Madrid, Milan, and Rome. Yes, that means more transatlantic flights to whisk you away to dreamy places where carbs don’t count, and the architecture is older than the internet.

Castles, Pasta, and Mythology – Oh My!

Let’s break it down: say you are joining the migratory or traveling population and you are flying out of Philadelphia (PHL), you can say you are the chosen one. The journey does not end there because apart from over 80 domestic points you get to connect, there are about 17 new routes across the Atlantic among them one to Edinburgh in Scotland. Get comfortable because if its currently winter where you are, very soon travellers will be exchanging their cheesesteaks for haggis (or not) as they roam around ancient castles wondering if they are secret beings of royalty.

Going to Italy? Well, it seems like American Airlines has got you covered as it recently introduced Miami (MIA) Rome (FCO) flights and PHL Milan (MXP) flights. By 2025, expect that American will roll out Italian destinations more than you have pasta recipes, making sure that summer leaves you, pizza, art and those dreamlike landscapes that give your instagram followers the worst of FOMO.

Charlotte to Athens anyone? The new route from Charlotte to Athens will get you to Acropolis country before you can utter civilization. And having four daily services to Greece by 2025, American is going to be the airline with the most knowledge on greek mythology.

Tapas, Sun, and Siestas: Chicago to Madrid

If using Atlanta to reach Spain is not your style, then there's nothing to be worried about. The American hub (ORD) located in Chicago is joining the fray emerging from the mumbai heat with its new route to Madrid. Now you can cross the ocean and find yourself in the land of Flamenco and Sangria and Spanish siestas. Should you decide to fly out of Madrid, the American airline’s hubs will allow you to navigate around Europe, Africa and the Middle East for those who want to travel but don’t want to commit.

More Flights, More Fun

If for whatever reason summer 2025 currently lacks plans for lounging with a cocktail in a beach club somewhere in Europe, American Airlines is going all in with over 70 departures per day to more than 20 transatlantic destinations. They will also be working on popular Kosharov routes such as CPH, NAP and NCE after supporting summer 2024, because more time in the land of Danish pastries, Neapolitan Pizzas and French Riviera never hurts anyone.

Ladies and Gentlemen, for the romantics, American’s winter service to Paris from Miami is sticking around for the summer season even. “Great,” said nobody, because now you can plan that picture-perfect Eiffel Tower moment during summer as well.

Bonus: Expanding Premium Offerings to Asia

Oh, and if Europe isn’t enough for you, American is also pumping up its routes to Asia for summer 2025. Bigger planes will connect Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) and Los Angeles (LAX) to Japan, making sure you’ve got plenty of space to stretch out and dream about sushi as you head to Tokyo and beyond. With easy connections to over 30 destinations across Japan and East Asia, your passport is about to get a serious workout.

American Airlines Expands Routes for Summer 2025

So, what are you waiting for? Summer 2025 is practically begging you to take a European (or Asian) adventure, and American Airlines is making sure you get there with style, convenience, and probably more than one in-flight snack.

Interested in Europe? Check out our marvellous DMCs in Europe who can help plan your next trip. 

Online Authorisation Mandatory for Japan 2030: Say Kon'nichiwa to Japan's New Travel Rules!

If you're dreaming of sushi, cherry blossoms, and all things Japan, there’s a new travel twist coming your way! By 2030, Japan will be rolling out a mandatory online travel authorisation system for visitors from 71 visa-free countries, including the USA, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and more. So, before you start packing your kimono, let’s dive into what this means for your future Japanese adventures.

What's the Deal?

Japan, the land of the rising sun and endless ramen, is upping its entry game. If you're from one of those lucky 71 visa-free countries (we're looking at you, USA, Australia, Singapore, and friends), you'll soon need to hop online and get a travel authorization before touching down in Tokyo. No more breezing through customs with just a passport—Japan wants to know a little bit more about you first. Think of it as a friendly pre-date questionnaire before your big vacation.

Why the Change?

As reported by Japan Today, this strategy is purely about improving border management and facilitating the crossing. When it comes to free entrances to Japan, the country seems to have realised that some people tend to spend their time there for as long as they wish, thus increasing the rate of over staying. So this is the reason why they are bringing this new policy to ensure discipline of some sort in the country. Japan intends to carry this out by 2030. 

Who’s Affected?

If your passport is from those 71 countries in the visa free list, you are on the list. It applies to travellers from Asia Pacific regions like Malaysia, Indonesia and South Korea and the European region like United Kingdom and France and Germany. North and South America don’t get left behind either with USA, Canada as well as several Latin American countries all joining the party. Not even Australia and New Zealand are left out. So basically, in short, if your purpose or your even is planning to visit Japan you should certainly check out whether your country is included on the recently released cut.

How It Works: This new system will be somewhat like the U.S. ESTA. For example, it is likely that in order to get on board your flight to Japan, you will be required to get online and fill in some details such as your purpose of visit, where you’ll be staying, and other bits of data that the Japanese Immigration Services Agency requires of its visitors. If all the information is correct, you’re on your way to doing the things that pushed you to visit Japan in the first place. However, if there are any red flags (e.g. a history of overstaying), you will probably come across the need to apply for a visa through the old fashioned way. You never can tell.

Why the Fuss? The Japanese authorities have been struggling to tackle a challenge, which is caused by the tourists overstaying their shenanigans. In year 2016 alone there were more than 28000 short term visas free visitors who were granted admission to Japan but chose to stay without the leave of the authorities. That is why Japan’s immigration policies are rapidly getting more stringent over the recent years. This new authorization system is geared towards eliminating illegal stays and making certain that every body who enters Japan, enjoys Japan with no ugly surprises.

Therefore, if Japan features on your travel bucket list, look out for these new rules. Instead of ending at Narita or JFK, your trip to the land of Sushi and Samurai will begin from the virtual world by the year 2030. Until then, bon voyage and do not forget that nothing spoils a journey more than forgetting to obtain travel authorisation!

Need help planning your next trip to Japan? Contact DMC Japan for help.