USA-Japan one-way flights for $91

[Buntaro]

This Low-cost Japanese Airline Just Added a New U.S.-Tokyo Route Starting at $91 One-way.

This Low-cost Japanese Airline Just Added a New U.S.-Tokyo Route Starting at $91 One-way

A low-cost Japanese airline is expanding its presence in the United States by launching new flights to San Francisco this summer.

www.travelandleisure.com

 

[Petaris]

That's impressively low. I wonder if you fly with the cargo sardine style?

 

[Grandpa Frank]

 

[johnnyG]

We flew zipair between narita and san jose in late February. IIRC it was ~¥320,000 each, round trip--for their version of biz class/full flat, and that included our selected additions--meals, and amenity packs (blanket, neck pillow, eye shades, etc).

Not sure of seat width, but when exploring seating, I seem to remember that their economy class seat pitch was 31", which is pretty normal--I think the same as actual JAL economy class.

 

[Buntaro]

Update: The 91 dollar price is only for children under six! Over that, we are looking at at least $300

 

[mdchachi]

Update: The 91 dollar price is only for children under six! Over that, we are looking at at least $300

I knew there was a catch! $300 or even $500 would still be a great deal though.

 

[Buntaro]

I now hear their business class seats are lie-flat beds and sell out very quickly.

 

[Buntaro]

The main thing to remember about Zipair is that you pay extra for everything.

There are several videos about Zipair on YouTube. Here is one.

 

[Grandpa Frank]

 

[Buntaro]

I've done some digging and I have come up with a little more information on Zip Air. The pilots are JAL, the flight attendants are JAL, and the planes are JAL, so it's just JAL under different colors. But there is one thing. The planes are older and have no video monitors on the back of each seat. So if you want to watch a movie, etc, you have to bring your own device. (Gee, I wonder if they charge us just to look at a moving map of the flight…)

 

[johnnyG]

The plane we flew was a 787-8, which I think is one of the newest--which are also the most efficient/cheapest to run (fuel cost per pax per mile).

And no video screens for each seat means not only saving the initial cost, but ongoing maintenance for all the related electronic connections into each seat, etc.

The number of attendants is very probably legally proscribed, so there's that minimum. Their full flat class (faux biz) did not have separate/extra restrooms, so maybe they squeeze in a few more seats that way. Galleys maybe also smaller since they only carry/serve pre-ordered meals (small ones) instead of serving the whole plane.

My wife's birthday happened to be on our arrival day, and one of the attendants brought her a handwritten note and wished her well before we arrived. I was across the aisle and didn't realize until my wife later explained it--I wondered if it was one of her former students or something--they were chatting so nicely. It turned out to be their well wishes, personalized.

(also, there's no moving map of the flight )

 

[Buntaro]

The 787 is a revolutionary aircraft in that it does not use something called "bleed air" to run specific systems. In older designs, part of the jet engine air pressure is siphoned off for things like heating the wings to melt ice, but this also reduces engine performance. The 787 only uses electrical/battery power for these functions. (You may remember, when the 787 first came out, there were numerous battery fires on 787's because the batteries just couldn't handle the huge amounts of electricity they were producing.) Not using bleed air makes the engines more efficient and powerful.