AirJapan Ignites Ticket Sales for Mid-2024 Launch, Expanding Asia-Oceania Reach

AirJapan, a subsidiary of ANA Holdings, has officially launched ticket sales in anticipation of its inaugural flights commencing on February 9, 2024. The airline is set to begin with scheduled roundtrips between Narita and Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, marking the start of its operations. Additionally, AirJapan will expand its network with the Tokyo Narita – Seoul Incheon route, starting from February 22.

Historically, AirJapan has been operational for over two decades, primarily functioning as a capacity provider for ANA – All Nippon Airways (NH, Tokyo Haneda). ANA Holdings, seeking to enhance its competitive edge against rivals like ZIPAIR and Scoot, proposed the transformation of AirJapan into a stand-alone medium-haul Low-Cost Carrier (LCC) in 2020. This strategic move was confirmed by ANA Holding’s Koji Shibata in early 2022, signifying a major shift in AirJapan’s role within the group.

The restructured AirJapan is set to concentrate on medium-haul markets across Asia and Oceania. This strategic positioning allows its sister company, Peach Aviation, to focus on short-haul international routes, while ANA continues to target long-haul markets. For its operations, AirJapan plans to utilize B787-8 aircraft, sourced from ANA’s fleet. According to ch-aviation fleets advanced data, ANA is yet to officially allocate any B787s to AirJapan, although it possesses a substantial fleet of eighty-one B787s, including thirty-six B787-8s. This fleet reassignment is a crucial part of AirJapan’s strategy to establish itself as a key player in the medium-haul LCC market.