Japanese regional airline Solaseed Air and Yamato Transport are advancing an integrated air-and-ground transportation initiative that leverages both companies’ networks. The scheme aims to deliver specialty products from Japan’s Kyushu region to the Tokyo metropolitan area on the same day, realizing a “three-way benefit” for producers, local communities, and businesses.
Under the new scheme, Yamato Transport uses its wide-area collection network to pick up products from producers across Kyushu and transport them to nearby airports. From the airports, the cargo is flown to Tokyo Haneda Airport on Solaseed Air flights. Upon arrival, the goods are transferred directly from the aircraft side to delivery vehicles in a “direct loading at aircraft side” operation, allowing them to be delivered to markets and restaurants in central Tokyo without passing through airport cargo warehouses.
(Photo courtesy of Solaseed Air)
Akifumi Ikeda, General Manager of the New Business Promotion Office at Solaseed Air, emphasizes that “the greatest feature is speed. We have created a logistics flow that thoroughly eliminates waste.” By using direct loading at aircraft side, the company has shortened lead time by up to 1.5 hours, enabling ingredients harvested in Kyushu in the morning to be served in the Tokyo metropolitan area that same evening.
At present, because Solaseed Air itself handles delivery after arrival at Haneda, the main delivery area is the southern part of central Tokyo. Going forward, the airline plans to expand coverage step by step by utilizing Yamato Transport’s last-mile delivery network. Direct loading at aircraft side currently applies to flights departing from Nagasaki, Kumamoto, and Miyazaki, with plans to extend it to flights departing from Kagoshima as well.
Shinichi Niikawa, Vice President of Solaseed Air, revealed that producers in mountainous regions and on remote islands had long voiced concerns that “it is difficult to transport goods all the way to the airport” and that “outsourcing transport to the airport is too costly.” He pointed out that this had become “a major barrier preventing producers in regional areas from connecting with the Tokyo metropolitan market.”
In 2021, the company launched “Sorachoku-bin,” an integrated air-and-ground transport service that Solaseed Air operates independently, handling everything from collection of small-lot cargo in Kyushu to air transport and final delivery to Tokyo. In addition to time-sensitive document shipments, the service has responded to needs for delivering small batches of local products in a fresh state. Since 2023, Solaseed Air has been working jointly with Yamato Transport to develop a more efficient transport scheme that combines aircraft and trucks. After about three years of trials and discussions, the two companies signed a comprehensive partnership agreement on January 26 this year and moved toward full-scale operation.
Katsuhiro Inami, Executive Officer at Yamato Transport, notes that although Kyushu has many high-quality primary products, the number of producers is decreasing due to population aging, and “sales channels are shrinking year by year.” Through the new scheme, the company hopes to help producers expand their sales channels.
Loading operations at Nagasaki Airport (photo courtesy of Solaseed Air)
At a kickoff event held in Tokyo in February, 60.9 kilograms of cargo, including yellowtail amberjack (hiramasa), strawberries, eggplants, and leaf lettuce, were transported on Solaseed Air flight 6J36 from Nagasaki to Tokyo/Haneda. The flight departed Nagasaki at 4:12 p.m., arrived at Haneda Airport at 5:47 p.m., and the cargo was then moved into Tokyo via direct loading at aircraft side, reaching the event venue, a restaurant in the Yotsuya district of Tokyo, at around 7:00 p.m.
Vice President Niikawa expressed his ambition, saying, “By combining Yamato Transport’s wide-area collection and delivery services with Solaseed Air’s air transport, we want to help solve regional issues.”
Loading operations at Nagasaki Airport (photo courtesy of Solaseed Air)
