Air Japan outlines initial operations and passenger experience features

ANA Holidingsnew airline – Air Japan – has outlined its initial operating plans. Lets us dive in.

The first confirmed route the airline will operate will be between Tokyo Narita and Bangkok Suvarnabhumi. Services will start on February 9, 2024.

The flights will operate from Narita Terminal 1, allowing connection from other ANA-operated services.

Initially, the airline will operate six flights a week based on the following timetable:

NQ001 DEPART NRT 17:55 ARRIVE BKK 23:15
NQ002 DEPART BKK 00:15 ARRIVE NRT 08:10

Operates from Tokyo-Narita on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays
Operates from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays
Commences 9th February 2024 to 30th March
Booked Equipment: Boeing 787-8

Data - ANA

Air Japan will deploy its Boeing 787-8 in a single-class configuration with 324 economy-class seats.

The airline has also announced its lead-in fares, with three offerings:

• Simple from 15,000 JPY / Children between 2 and 6,  8,000 JPY.
• Standard from 19,200 JPY  / Children between 2 and 6,  10,590 JPY. Adds Advance Seat selection (of a seat worth up to 1,500 yen) and one checked bag at 23kg.
• Selected from 23,800 JPY / Children between 2 and 6,  15,300 JPY.Adds Advance Seat selection (of a seat worth up to 3000 yen)  and two checked bags at 23kg and some inflight meals.

All flights are priced one-way and allow for a carry-on bag of up to 7 kg.

There are some nasty gotchas with this, with passenger facility charges and various taxes required in addition to the fare. More nastily, once the ticket has been purchased, flight changes and fare refunds are not permitted.

Air Japan is styling itself as a Low-Cost carrier, so features such as advance seat selection, checked baggage, and pre-purchase of in-flight meals can be selected separately, if you have not selected an option in your fare.

Catering options have also been unveiled, with up to 13 meal options offered for pre-purchase.

AirJapan will offer an extensive lineup of meals, snacks, sweets and beverages where passengers will be able to enjoy Japan’s regional delicacies. In addition, a lot of that food will have a longer shelf life than usual.

Finally, there will be dedicated in-flight Wi-Fi, with BlueBox Aviation doing the heavy lifting. We’ll be going into this later.

In Quotes

Hideki Mineguchi, President of AirJapan, said:

“It is our hope that by launching AirJapan, we can showcase the very best of Japan from inside the cabin to enhance their travel journey,”

“We are excited and eagerly anticipate welcoming passengers onboard to experience the exceptional journey that AirJapan offers.”

Ticketing now open

If you’re in the mood to try and fly, Air Japan has launched its website and has opened its ticketing options at https://www.flyairjapan.com/ja.