Japan Airlines has announced plans to greatly expand its low cost subsidiary, ZIPAIR. This also sheds some light on Japan Airlines’ recent fleet renewal announcement.
ZIPAIR acquiring 787-9s, expanding fleet to 20 Dreamliners
ZIPAIR is Japan Airlines’ low cost carrier, which launched operations in 2020. The airline operates out of Tokyo Narita (NRT), serving both short and long haul routes. In some cases the airline replicates Japan Airlines’ network, while going after a different passenger profile. Destinations are as close as Seoul Incheon (ICN), and as far as Houston (IAH),
Currently, ZIPAIR’s fleet consists of eight Boeing 787-8s, and we’ve known up until now that the airline planned to have a total of 10 of these. There’s now a major update — ZIPAIR plans to double its fleet, and fly 10 additional Boeing 787s.
Not only that, but those 10 additional planes will the 787-9 variant, which is larger than the existing 787-8 variant. In other words, ZIPAIR’s capacity will more than double. The remaining two 787-8s are expected to be delivered by 2026, and then the 10 787-9s will be delivered between 2027 and the early 2030s.
While the 787-8s boast 290 seats, it hasn’t yet been revealed how many seats the 787-9s will have, though presumably they’ll haver well over 300.
I’ve reviewed the ZIPAIR experience, and it’s kind of fascinating. The airline doesn’t have any personal TVs onboard, but instead has free Wi-Fi for all passengers. Furthermore, the airline has reverse herringbone seats at the front of the cabin, which are marketed as “Full Flat.” These offer a lot more space, but don’t offer any extra services. In terms of inflight service, ZIPAIR tickets include absolutely nothing, other than the seat and the privilege of using the bathroom. 😉
This is a major part of Japan Airlines’ international growth
Japan Airlines has been on quite the aircraft shopping spree lately. In March 2024, as part of its latest wide body aircraft order announcement, the company revealed plans to increase international capacity by 40% by the end of the decade. This growth includes not just Japan Airlines, but also ZIPAIR.
Many of us were surprised that the company ordered an additional 21 Airbus A350-900s and 10 Boeing 787-9s, beyond the fleet renewal that had previously been announced. These planes are all being used for international expansion, with deliveries expected as of 2027.
With ZIPAIR planning on acquiring 10 additional Boeing 787-9s, this aircraft order makes a lot more sense. For the most part, ZIPAIR’s fleet has been made up of hand-me-down 787s from the Japan Airlines fleet. So I’m curious how this is handled.
Will ZIPAIR take delivery of brand new Boeing 787-9s, as part of the order placed last year? Or will Japan Airlines transfer some of its used 787-9s to ZIPAIR, and take delivery of the new ones? The latter seems more likely to me, especially since Japan Airlines presumably wants to introduce new cabins on its Dreamliners at some point.
Bottom line
ZIPAIR has announced significant growth plans. Up until now, the airline only officially planned to fly 10 Boeing 787-8s, while the airline will now also fly 10 Boeing 787-9s, with deliveries starting in 2027. This is part of the company’s overall goal of increasing international capacity by 40% in the coming years. It also explains why Japan Airlines placed such a big wide body aircraft order.
What do you make of the plans for ZIPAIR to grow considerably?
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