ZIPAIR has four US routes from Tokyo Narita: Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Jose. The Japanese carrier, which only uses Boeing 787-8s, is a low-cost, no-frills, wholly-owned subsidiary of Japan Airlines.
Four US routes (for now)
Details of the four routes are shown in the following table. They include a new, five-weekly Tokyo Narita to San Francisco service, which begins on June 2nd. A huge market, it has head-to-head competition with All Nippon, Japan Airlines, and United Airlines, along with much indirect competition from Haneda.
ZIPAIR began San Jose on December 12th, 2022. It is the third airline to attempt the route. The first was American, which operated between 1991 and 2006 because of its then-San Jose hub. Then it was All Nippon between 2013 and 2020.
ZIPAIR’s US network
ZIPAIR’s network is shown below, along with a summary of direct and indirect competition.
Looking at Los Angeles, if all airlines from Tokyo Narita and Haneda are combined, there are 11 daily flights. This makes the Japanese capital Los Angeles’ second most-served international market at the city level, behind only London (up to 13 daily). At the airport level, Narita-Los Angeles doesn’t rank in the top 10, while Haneda, with seven daily services, is sixth.
| ZIPAIR from Tokyo Narita to… | Flights | Competition from Narita? | Flights from Haneda? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honolulu | Three weekly | All Nippon (daily to double daily), Hawaiian Airlines (six weekly), Japan Airlines (daily to nine weekly) | All Nippon (daily), Hawaiian Airlines (daily to 12 weekly), Japan Airlines (double daily) |
| Los Angeles | Daily | All Nippon (daily), Japan Airlines (daily), Singapore Airlines (daily)* | American Airlines (double daily), All Nippon (double daily), Delta (daily), Japan Airlines (daily), United (daily) |
| San Francisco | Five weekly (starts June 2nd) | All Nippon (daily), Japan Airlines (daily), United Airlines (daily) | All Nippon (daily), Japan Airlines (daily), United Airlines (daily) |
| San Jose | Five weekly | None | None |
| * Fifth freedom traffic rights |
ZIPAIR has six 787-8s
ZIPAIR, whose first revenue-generating passenger flight was in October 2020, currently has six 787-8s. Averaging 9.3 years, each is from parent Japan Airlines. According to ch-aviation.com, the most recent deliveries were in March 2023 (JA850J) and April (JA827J).
It expects two more 787-8s in the financial years ending March 2025 and March 2026. By early 2026, it should therefore have ten aircraft in its fleet.
Each 787 has the same configuration. There are 290 seats: 18 in business (called ZIP Full-Flat) and 272 in economy. There is no seat-back entertainment, and everything is unbundled, even in business.
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Japan to the US
Examining the full Japan-US non-stop passenger market this northern summer using Cirium data shows 37 airport pairs. These include the US territories of Guam and Saipan:
- Fukuoka: Guam, Honolulu
- Nagoya: Guam, Honolulu
- Osaka: Guam, Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Francisco
- Tokyo Haneda: Atlanta, Chicago O’Hare, Dallas Fort Worth, Detroit, Honolulu, Houston Intercontinental, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Newark, New York JFK, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington Dulles
- Tokyo Narita: Boston, Chicago O’Hare, Denver, Dallas Fort Worth, Guam, Honolulu, Houston Intercontinental, Kona, Los Angeles, Newark, New York JFK, Saipan, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle
Will you be flying between Japan and the US soon? If so, let us know in the comments.
