1,100 people watch sunrise on New Year flights, some view Mt. Fuji+

TOKYO, Jan. 1 Kyodo -
About 1,100 people watched the first sunrise of the year Friday on six special
New Year flights arranged by three Japanese airlines, with passengers on some
of the flights also getting a view of Mt. Fuji.
Struggling Japan Airlines Corp., which is seeking a turnaround under state
supervision, operated three of the flights, each departing from and landing
back at Haneda airport in Tokyo, Narita airport east of the capital and Kansai
airport in Osaka Prefecture, carrying a combined 750 people.
All Nippon Airways Co. had two flights -- one from Haneda which also featured
circling over Mt. Fuji before returning to the airport and another leaving from
and returning to Kansai airport. Star Flyer Inc. ran a short flight from
Kitakyushu airport in Fukuoka Prefecture to see the sunrise from above the
clouds.
Kazuya Gokita, a 27-year-old company employee from Tokyo who was on JAL's New
Year flight from Haneda, said, ''It was the first time for me to see the first
sunrise of the year from the sky, and I was inspired by the beautiful scenery.
I want to do it again next year.''
Gokita was among 255 passengers on the near-capacity Boeing 767 midsize plane,
which left Haneda airport at 5:50 a.m. and circled above a mountainous area in
Yamanashi Prefecture when the sun came out to shine on Mt. Fuji before
returning to Haneda about two hours later.
Yoko Yamaguchi, 26, a crew member on the flight, said, ''After watching the
passengers smile, I renewed my pledge to carry on toward the company's
rehabilitation, also for the sake of our customers.''
==Kyodo