Spring Japan inaugurated its Tokyo/Narita to Beijing/Capital route on August 1st, operating one flight a day using a Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
This service is operated as a wet lease for Japan Airlines (JAL), utilizing Spring Japan’s aircraft and crew. Though flights are operated under a JAL flight number, they are also sold under Spring Japan’s flight number through codesharing.
The JL8689/IJ17 flight bound for Beijing/Capital departs Tokyo/Narita at 5:55 PM and arrives at 9:15 PM. The JL8680/IJ18 flight bound for Tokyo/Narita leaves Beijing/Capital at 10:45 AM and lands at 3:30 PM. Both Tokyo/Narita and Beijing/Capital use Terminal 3.
Ancillary services are primarily based on Spring Japan’s standards, but seat selection fees, checked baggage fees, and excess baggage fees are waived for bookings made under a JAL flight number. However, bookings under a JAL flight number are temporarily exclusively handled by Shanghai Spring International Travel Service.
▲Spring Japan’s Executive Officer Masahiko Osako
“Our main target is the price-sensitive Chinese customers,” said Masahiko Osako, Executive Officer of Spring Japan, explaining that the route offers “high convenience for those coming from China to Japan.” Highlighting the ease of transfers to various destinations, he added, “By offering affordable prices, we aim to cater to a wide range of customers including Chinese, Japanese, and Westerners.”
The inaugural JL8689/IJ17 flight (aircraft registration number: JA03GR) was almost full, with 184 out of the 189 seats occupied. The flight was notably used by families returning to China. At the boarding gate, cabin crew in the newly introduced second-generation uniforms handed out souvenirs to each passenger.
With the launch of the Tokyo/Narita to Beijing/Capital route, Spring Japan’s network now includes 2 domestic routes from Tokyo/Narita to Sapporo/Chitose and Hiroshima, and 4 international routes to Shanghai/Pudong, Harbin, Tianjin, and Ningbo, totaling 7 routes.
Spring Airlines Japan was established in September 2012. It started operations on three routes from Tokyo/Narita to Hiroshima, Takamatsu, and Saga on August 1, 2014. It became a subsidiary of JAL in June 2021, and its name was changed to the current one in November of the same year. August 1st marks the 10th anniversary of its inauguration.
