AirAsia gets green light for Japanese relaunch

AirAsia will relaunch operations in Japan next year, after the low-cost carrier was granted an Air Operator’s Certificate by the country’s aviation authorities.

Based at Nagoya‘s Chubu Centrair International Airport, AirAsia Japan will commence services in spring 2016, offering both domestic and international routes. The marks a return to the country for AirAsia, after its previous Japanese carrier was disbanded in September 2013.

“We are very excited to be back in Japan,” said AirAsia’s group CEO, Tony Fernandes. “We have fantastic partners here and we are united in the vision to change the way people travel in Japan.

“Centrair Airport is a fantastic base and with our new routes, we look forward not only to enable the Japanese to enjoy our direct destinations but to connect them to the rest of Asia and beyond on our extensive network.”

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Analysis by Mark Elliott

You certainly can’t accuse Tony Fernandes of being a quitter. Almost as soon as the first AirAsia Japan failed in 2013 the entrepreneur vowed to try again, and he has proved as good as his word. At the time, Fernandes said ANA simply “didn’t understand the low-cost business”. His new backers – a group of Japanese firms including e-commerce giant Rakuten – are much less likely to interfere in operational matters, allowing AirAsia to stay true to its tried and tested low-cost model. But time will tell whether the decision to base AirAsia Japan at Nagoya will prove successful.

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AirAsia Japan will have an initial capital investment of approximately JPY7 billion (US$69 million) and will operate a fleet of all-economy class Airbus A320 aircraft. Initial routes for the airline will connect Nagoya with Sapporo, Sendai and Taipei.

The previous incarnation of AirAsia Japan lasted just 13 months before closing, due to disagreements with its partner ANA. The Tokyo-based airline has since been rebranded as Vanilla Air, and this airline, along with Peach Aviation and Jetstar Japan, will provide direct competition for the new AirAsia Japan. None of these rival LCCs however, are based in Nagoya.

AirAsia Japan will become the group’s sixth short-haul airline, following existing units in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and India.

sourced:traveldailymedia.com