AirJapan Launches Operations With Boeing 787s

AirJapan by ANA officially launched operations on Friday, the now third airline in the ANA Group setting off.

The service was operated with the Boeing 787-8 aircraft, which connected Tokyo Narita and Bangkok, acting as the airline’s debut route. AirJapan says it’ll service Bangkok with six roundtrip flights per week.

Upcoming Expansion

In the future, starting February 22, 2024, AirJapan says it’ll add flights from Tokyo Narita to Incheon, and the newly announced Singapore Changi service will debut on April 26, 2024.

The future launch of these routes will only be made possible thanks to the continued arrival of new aircraft, which AirJapan says will come in due course.

Affordable Flights

These Boeing 787s acquired from ANA are configured with all economy, AirJapan will focus on not being full service carrier but be more affordable for customers.

While flights will be affordable, the airline doesn’t necessarily want to lose its charm held within the ANA Group and thus be the pride of Japan. ANA will retain this feeling by ensuring that space in the cabin is primarily the same as the mainline ANA flights, with adjustments made elsewhere to make the lower costs possible.

A Growing Market

ANA launching AirJapan is not only to better compete with existing companies such as Scoot by Singapore Airlines and ZipAir by Japan Airlines, but it is equally to respond to the surging demand in the region once more.

Tourism in Japan specifically grew substantially in 2023 as restrictions continued to ease, resulting in the country becoming once more a destination people could and wanted to visit.

Long Term Plans

In the long term, the airline hopes to grow its fleet and attract more people to Japan, destinations across Asia, and potentially beyond. However, it wants to continue doing this at an affordable price, making it more attractive than competitor airlines.