Zipair, officially , is a Japanese

low-cost airline A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (occasionally referred to as '' no-frills'', ''budget'' or ''discount carrier'' or ''airline'', and abbreviated as ''LCC'') is an airline that is operated with an especially high emphasis on minimizing ope ...

headquartered on the grounds of Tokyo Narita Airport. Initially founded in 2018, the airline is a wholly owned subsidiary of

Japan Airlines , also known as JAL (''Jaru'') or , is an international airline and Japan's flag carrier and largest airline as of 2021 and 2022, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Haneda Airport, ...

, from which it leases its fleet of

Boeing 787 Dreamliner The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is an American wide-body jet airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After dropping its unconventional Sonic Cruiser project, Boeing announced the conventional 7E7 on January 29, 2003, ...

aircraft. Operations launched on June 3, 2020 as a cargo-only airline due to restrictions on passenger traffic related to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, and passenger operations launched on October 16, 2020.

History

(JAL) announced in May 2018 that it planned to launch a new international

low-cost carrier A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (occasionally referred to as '' no-frills'', ''budget'' or ''discount carrier'' or ''airline'', and abbreviated as ''LCC'') is an airline that is operated with an especially high emphasis on minimizing ope ...

during mid-2020, which was to compete with other Asian carriers attempting to expand into the Japanese market, such as

AirAsia X AirAsia X (previously known as ''FlyAsianXpress Sdn. Bhd.''), is a long-haul budget airline based in Malaysia, and a sister company of AirAsia. It commenced operations on 2 November 2007 with its first service flown from Kuala Lumpur Internati ...

. JAL established a wholly owned subsidiary for preparing the business, legally incorporated as , in July that year. It was estimated that the airline would commence operation in time for the 2020 Summer Olympics. In March 2019, the brand of the new carrier was named Zipair, referencing the words "Zip", which represents speed, and " ZIP Code". Subsequently, T.B.L. was renamed "Zipair Tokyo Inc." Zipair's planned operations consisted of international flights from

Narita International Airport Narita International Airport ( ja, 成田国際空港, Narita Kokusai Kūkō) , also known as Tokyo-Narita, formerly and originally known as , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Haneda Airpo ...

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populatio ...

and

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

, launching on May 14 and July 1, 2020, respectively with

Boeing 787-8 The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is an American wide-body jet airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After dropping its unconventional Sonic Cruiser project, Boeing announced the conventional 7E7 on January 29, 2003, ...

aircraft transferred from JAL. The airline planned to launch additional destinations in Asia, while flights to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

were planned to be added by 2021. In early 2020, the

impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on aviation The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the airline industry due to travel restrictions and a decimation in demand among travelers. Significant reductions in passenger numbers have resulted in flights being cancelled or planes ...

disrupted Zipair's plans for its launch of operations, with Thailand banning all incoming passenger flights from April 4, 2020, and the Japanese government introducing strict border enforcement measures. Under these circumstances, Zipair announced on April 9, 2020 that its launch of service would be postponed until further notice, although later that month the airline applied with the

US Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the President of the United States an ...

for the operation of a route to

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the islan ...

to begin on October 25, 2020. On May 21, 2020, it was announced that the airline had submitted an application to the Japanese authority for the launch of cargo flights between Tokyo and Bangkok to meet the needs for air cargo during the suspension of passenger flights. Zipair proceeded to launch services on June 3, 2020, initially as a cargo airline, with its fleet of

aircraft. Following its launch as a cargo-only airline, Zipair inaugurated its passenger services on October 16, 2020. The following month, on November 20, 2020, the airline announced the details of its first route to the United States, with flights between Tokyo Narita and Honolulu launching on December 19, 2020. On July 20, 2021, the airline announced a new service between Tokyo Narita and Singapore, with flights launching on September 7, 2021. On October 28, 2021, the airline added a third aircraft to its fleet with a Boeing 787-8 transferred from Japan Airlines. On November 12, 2021, the airline announced a new service between Tokyo Narita and

Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...

to begin on December 25, 2021. In June 2022, Zipair announced that the large letter Z on the tailfin of its livery would be replaced with a green geometric pattern to avoid misunderstandings, as the letter has been used as a military symbol by

Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (, ), commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military forces of Russia. In terms of active-duty personnel, they are the world's fifth-largest military force, with at least two m ...

involved in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Also in June 2022, the airline announced a new service between Tokyo Narita and San Jose International Airport to launch during December 2022, before subsequently specifying December 12, 2022 as the launch date for the service.

Destinations

, Zipair operates to the following destinations:

Fleet

Zip Air Boeing 787-8 JA822J (49429383758)

, the Zipair fleet consists of the following aircraft:

Notes

References

External links