ANA Holdings’ new medium-haul international brand, “AirJapan”, celebrated its inaugural flight on February 9th, launching the Tokyo/Narita to Bangkok/Suvarnabhumi route. The first flight, NQ1, was almost fully booked with 310 passengers and departed from spot 51 at 6:21 p.m.
AirJapan is the third brand under the ANA Group, following the full-service carrier (FSC) ANA and low-cost carrier (LCC) Peach. It aims to capture the mid to low-price demand, mainly targeting visitors from Southeast Asia to Japan, by leveraging the business know-how of both FSC and LCC services. Plans include launching Tokyo/Narita to Seoul/Incheon route on February 22nd and Tokyo/Narita to Singapore route on April 29th, with mid-term plans to expand into Kansai International Airport.
Narita International Airport will serve as the departure and arrival point from the South Wing of Terminal 1, also facilitating connections within the ANA Group. The aircraft utilized is a Boeing 787-8, retrofitted from ANA’s operations, featuring an all-economy class layout in a ‘3-3-3’ seating arrangement and equipped with 324 seats. The service starts with one aircraft, JA803A, and plans to expand to a six-aircraft operation by the end of fiscal year 2025. The second aircraft (registration number: JA801A) is scheduled to be introduced in mid-April.
The Tokyo/Narita to Bangkok/Suvarnabhumi route, being the first route, has flight NQ1 departing from Tokyo/Narita on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and flight NQ2 departing from Bangkok/Suvarnabhumi on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, offering six round trips per week. NQ1 departs Tokyo/Narita at 5:55 p.m. and arrives in Bangkok/Suvarnabhumi at 11:15 p.m. NQ2 departs Bangkok/Suvarnabhumi at 0:15 a.m. and arrives at Tokyo/Narita at 8:10 a.m. The service will become daily starting from April 30th with the introduction of the second aircraft.
There are three fare classes: ‘Selected’, ‘Standard’, and ‘Simple’. ‘Selected’ includes in-flight meals, pre-assigned seating (up to 3,000 yen), and two checked bags up to 23 kg. ‘Standard’ includes pre-assigned seating (up to 1,500 yen) and one checked bag up to 23 kg. ‘Simple’ does not include any paid options.
Fares for Tokyo/Narita to Bangkok/Suvarnabhumi start from 23,800 yen for ‘Selected’, 19,200 yen for ‘Standard’, and 15,500 yen for ‘Simple’, all excluding fuel surcharges and taxes, and are non-refundable and non-changeable. Carry-on baggage is free up to 7 kg.
A commemorative ceremony was held at Narita Airport to celebrate the inaugural flight, featuring a live performance by Yasutaka Yamashita, a Tsugaru Shamisen player who graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts in collaboration with AirJapan. Hideki Mineguchi, President of AirJapan, addressed the passengers, expressing his hope for them to enjoy the comfort of the seats, one of the brand’s main selling points, and stated, “It would be extremely pleasing if the launch of AirJapan serves the national interests of both Japan and Thailand.” According to President Mineguchi, about 75% of the booked passengers on both Tokyo/Narita and Thailand departures are Thai visitors to Japan. “Our goal for the Southeast Asian routes is 70% inbound traffic, and so far, we are feeling positive,” he said.
