Japan has a reputation for loving expensive things likeoverpriced real estate, gourmet melons and luxury brands. But the nation isfinally discovering the joy of flying cheap, with the arrival this year ofthree low-cost carriers.
The takeoff of AirAsia Japan, Peach Aviation and JetstarJapan could change lifestyles. No longer will air travel be mostly confined tobusiness trips and fancy once-in-a-lifetime vacations to places such as Hawaii.
Flying is suddenly growing more casual, including forweekend dining, visits with friends, even day trips. Ticket prices are plungingby about half, to 16,000 yen ($200) trips to the southwestern resort island ofOkinawa or a 5,000 yen ($60) hop to Seoul.
The airlines are not only out to woo Japanese away fromregular leisure activities such as spending money at Disneyland or watching amovie. They are also out to convince the notoriously workaholic Japanese not towork so hard.
They may revitalize Japan's 3 trillion yen ($38 billion)aviation market — already the world's third largest, comprising about 5.5percent of global traffic and 11 percent of industry revenues — that criticssay is untapped for its tremendous potential.
Helping to drive the change is the expansion of two Tokyoairports, Haneda and Narita, which has opened up more landing slots forairlines.
Twenty-two-year-old graduate student Chie Kodama recentlyused Jetstar for an urban planning research trip to Okinawa, and was surprisedat how the planes were "normal," like any other airline's.
"And it is so cheap you forgive any shortcomings,"she said.
As with other low-cost carriers around the world, flyers getcharged for meals and extra luggage. Efficiency is critical and so the airlinesuse online advertising and reservations, fit more seats into each jet, and takeoff quickly after landing.
Booking early is a must for the best deals, and refunds andschedule changes aren't allowed. The gates are typically at the farthest end ofairports. Flights are sometimes delayed. The wait feels longer because LCCusers have to check in extra early.
Masato Yamaguchi, 22, said his friends had to run like madwhen their AirAsia flight back to Tokyo from Okinawa was delayed, and theybarely had time to catch the last bus.
As he noted: What would be the point of having to payhundreds of dollars for a cab home, if they had endured the cramped space of alow cost carrier to pinch pennies?
"There was no way to cross your legs," Yamaguchigrumbled. "You wouldn't want to use it if you're going someplace faraway."
Still, the carriers are doing well so far.
During the nation's Obon holidays in August, domesticflights at Peach were 94 percent filled, those at AirAsia were at 91 percentand at Jetstar, 89 percent. The companies are hoping to do as well for theyear-end and New Year's holidays.
"It's not that the meals on standard fares were everfree. The charge was just part of the ticket price," Kazuyuki Iwakata,president of AirAsia Japan, told The Associated Press. "With us, peoplepay only for what they need."
As a marketing ploy, AirAsia Japan, which started operationsin August, offered tickets for just 5 yen (5 cents) to the first 10,000 people.They quickly sold out.
During the go-go "bubble years" of the late 1980sand early 1990s, Japanese were especially seen as finicky consumers whodelighted in 3,000 yen ($30) cups of fancy coffee and snatched up 500,000 yen($5,000) designer bags.
Such spending has lost some of its glamor as Japanese becomeless status-conscious, perhaps poorer and look for discounts. Such shifts inconsumer tastes is underlined in the popularity, for instance, of FastRetailing Co.'s no-nonsense Uniqlo clothing chain, which is also opening shopsin the U.S.
Geoffrey Tudor, analyst with Japan Aviation ManagementResearch, said low-cost carriers are introducing the fun of flying to youngpeople and retirees. They are also popular with families who live apart tojuggle work assignments and children's education needs — a practice sowidespread a special phrase has been coined to describe it, "tanshinfunin."
Jetstar Japan Chief Executive Miyuki Suzuki said a tenth ofthose who use her carrier are first-time fliers.
"We aim to grow the piece of the pie," she toldreporters recently. "People can travel more for less and have many moreexperiences."
Jetstar Japan is a third owned by Australia's Qantas AirwaysLtd., and a third owned by Japan Airlines Co., which is making a soaringcomeback, thanks to a 350 billion yen ($4.5 billion) government bailout frombankruptcy two years ago and generous tax breaks that continue for severalyears. Mitsubishi Corp. and Century Tokyo Leasing Corp. are its othershareholders with 16.7 percent each.
AirAsia Japan is 49 percent owned by AirAsia, a Malaysianlow-cost carrier founded in 1993, whose motto is "Now everyone canfly," and 51 percent by All Nippon Airways Co., or ANA, JAL's rival.
ANA is also a 38.7 percent investor in Peach, a jointventure with Hong Kong investment group, First Eastern Aviation Holdings. Peachoffers flights out of Kansai International Airport in Osaka, central Japan.
AirAsia Japan offers flights out of Narita, the Tokyoairport, to Sapporo, Fukuoka and Okinawa in Japan, and plans to start them toSeoul and Pusan in South Korea later this year. Flights to the Philippines andGuam are in the works as well.
While expanding Haneda has given a boost to the airlinetravel market, officials say more needs to be done. Landing fees at Japaneseairports are among the highest in the world, endangering Tokyo's role as anAsian hub.
Tony Tyler, director and chief executive of theInternational Air Transport Association, said all carriers need to bring costsdown if they hope to survive, but was upbeat about Japanese LCCs.
"In many parts of the world, the low-fare sector hastapped into demand from new market sectors. So they have grown the market,rather than cannibalized it," he said.
Also sold on low-cost carriers was Hirotaka Yamamoto, 22,who goes to college in Tokyo but hails from the northernmost island ofHokkaido. He surprised his parents over the summer by going home, thanks to the24,000 yen ($300) round-trip fare on Jetstar, less than half of what he paid inthe past.
"They were surprised to see me and so happy," hesaid. "I hope the tickets keep getting even cheaper."