Americans Can Now Fly Nonstop To Japan From This US City For The First Time Ever

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Any Floridians in here who've been dreaming of a trip to Japan to see the cherry blossoms in spring? Well, we have some truly exciting news to break to you.

For the first time in History, you will be able to fly nonstop from Orlando International Airport (MCO) to Narita International Airport in Tokyo (NRT). It's a pretty long journey, but at least you can say goodbye to those West Coast layovers.

But before you go about making potential travel plans (trust us, we'd be doing the same), there's a caveat, if you will: this will be a charter service, as opposed to a commercial scheduled flight, so you might want to book before seats sell out.

ZIPAIR Tokyo Launching A Charter Service From Orlando

The flights will be operated by ZIPAIR Tokyo, a low-cost airline headquartered in Narita, and as of right now, four dates for outbound journeys have been confirmed:

• February 23, 2026
• February 28, 2026
• March 5, 2026
• March 10, 2026

On previous Trans-Pacific flights, ZIPAIR has used a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. It seats 290 passengers, including 18 ‘full-flat', their version of Premium, and 272 in Economy.

Though they have announced plans to introduce a 787-9 to their fleet in the future, we suspect the Orlando-Tokyo flights will fall under the previous configuration.

As noted previously, despite being a charter service, this will mark the first-ever nonstop connection between the Floridian hub and Tokyo, who share a lot in common, not only due to Orlando's thriving Japanese-American community, but the fact that both host Disney parks.

What Has Disney Got To Do With It?

As a matter of fact, the official announcement held in Tokyo on October 28 featured leaders in Government standing side by side with Walt Disney Company executives. Needless to say, the House of Mickey Mouse is banking heavily on this.

For the coming year, Tokyo Disneyland is gearing up to open a brand-new Wreck-It Ralph attraction, replacing the Buzz Lightyear-themed Astro Blasters. Inspired by the fictional ‘Sugar Rush' game, it looks set to be one thrilling ride.

Additionally, a large-scale redevelopment of the park's Tomorrowland is underway, including a revamp of the iconic Space Mountain. Further attractions being replaced include Jungle Cruise: Wildlife Expeditions and Treehouse:

Those will now become themed areas based on Disney hit movies such as Up, The Incredibles, and Moana.

All in all, it's an exciting time to be a Disney adult, especially if you love collecting pins from parks around the world: now Walt Disney World in Orlando and its Tokyo counterpart will be a single nonstop flight away.

This is a sentiment echoed by ZIPAIR President & CEO Shingo Nishida himself, who added they ‘look forward to welcoming Disney fans and guests' on their charter flights in spring.

How Much Will Tickets Cost?

As for flight tickets, we don't know at this stage what's the average fare, but we can take a wild guess based on other ZIPAIR routes already in offer.

After all, they're already servicing Tokyo from five other U.S. cities: Honolulu in Hawaii, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Jose in California. On top of that, they even fly to Vancouver, Canada.

In general, standard fares (Economy) start from roughly $300–⁠$350 one-way, while full-flat seats (if you want to maximize comfort during the long-haul) range from $1,400 to $1,550.

Naturally, the lowest fares exclude checked baggage and meals (this is a low-cost carrier, remember?) so if you're booking a seat on the charter flight from Orlando to Tokyo, make sure you have all the add-ons you will need onboard to make flying as smooth as possible.

You have about 15 hours of flight time ahead of you.