Japan Airlines Announces Nonstop Boston Flights

Travelers can begin looking forward to nonstop flights from Boston to Tokyo. Japan Airlines announced Friday that it will begin flying directly from Boston's Logan International Airport to Tokyo's Narita International Airport in April 2012.

Boston is the largest U.S. market without nonstop Asian service.

The Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates Logan Airport, estimates more than 380,000 passengers flew from Boston to Asia in 2010, generating more than $350 million in ticket sales.

Gov. Deval Patrick says the service will help connect those in Asia to Massachusetts' health care, biotechnology and telecommunications industries as well as the state's colleges and research universities.

Japan Airlines President Masaru Onishi says the new route will prove to be a valuable link for commercial and cultural exchanges between both regions.