Originally Posted by
NewbieRunner
NGO is about 2 hours by train from Osaka. When KIX was out of action after a powerful typhoon last September LH upgraded FRA-NGO to the 744 for a while to compensate for the absence of flights to KIX. NGO was considered a possible alternative to KIX. Or perhaps LH is surreptitiously sending a 346 to NGO in case the government plane goes belly up again and
Mrs Merkel has to fly commercial. 
I looked at the flights around then and I don’t know if that’s the case. I thought you’re right, but look at the other flights to Japan: KIX doesn’t change from a 359, and HND remains a 74H. It would be MEGA weird for them to upgauge NGO on the one day that is actually less likely for government functionaries to travel (if they finish meetings on the 29th, they’d have to take a pretty early train from Osaka to get to Nagoya airport), not to mention the shinkansen doesn’t get to the airport - you have to change to the Mu Sky express and that’s another half hour or so. So this is hardly a convenient connection - ITM-HND-FRA is a far easier one for lazy government ministers. So I don’t know what the story is here, hmm. Maybe a major concurrent automotive conference? Since NGO is literally 90% of Japan’s automotive industry.