Japanese carrier ZIPAIR has upped its capacity to California with additional weekly flights to San Jose. Between January and March 2023, the low-cost airline will go from three flights per week to five, operated by its Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner fleet.

ZIPAIR adds San Jose frequencies

From January 11th to March 25th, Japanese low-cost carrier ZIPAIR will bolster capacity on its Tokyo Narita (NRT)-San Jose (SJC) route with five weekly flights during this period. The Japan Airlines subsidiary is set to launch the new route on December 12th with an initial offering of three flights per week.

Upon announcing this route in September, ZIPAIR made it clear it hoped to offer daily frequencies by 2023 and may do so over the upcoming Summer season. San Jose is set to become the third US destination in ZIPAIR's network, joining Honolulu and Los Angeles.

ZIPAIR's foray into San Jose represents the first time in almost three years that the Californian city will be directly connected to Tokyo. Back in early 2020, Tokyo-San Jose was served by All Nippon Airways, but the carrier quit the airport following the COVID pandemic.

ANA currently plans to return to San Jose in March 2023, although it will switch to Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND). ZIPAIR's parent airline, Japan Airlines, currently operates 11 weekly flights between Tokyo - both NRT and HND - to San Francisco International Airport, which is situated just 50km from SJC.

Operated by the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner

All flights on this route will be served by the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. ZIPAIR's Dreamliners can carry up to 290 passengers in a two-class configuration - 18 in business and 272 in economy.

The full schedule (Mon, Wed, Thu, Sat, Sun) is as follows:

  • Flight ZG 30: Tokyo Narita to San Jose - departs NRT at 16:00, arrives at SJC at 08:10 AM.
  • Flight ZG 29: San Jose to Tokyo Narita - departs SJC at 10:10 AM, arrives at NRT at 14:30 (+1).

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is the only aircraft operated by the Japanese LCC, which boasts a small fleet of four Boeing 787-8s. ZIPAIR's fleet has an average age exceeding 10 years, with all four Dreamliners previously flying under parent company Japan Airlines.

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Impressive winter offerings

ZIPAIR can look forward to operating a diverse schedule this winter. The carrier will serve Los Angeles (LAX), San Jose (SJC), Honolulu (HNL), Singapore (SIN), Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK), and Seoul Incheon (ICN) with up to 20,000 weekly seats on offer.

Zipair 787
Photo: ZIPAIR

The Japanese LCC launched its first passenger flight in October 2020, with its inaugural service carrying just two passengers between Tokyo and Seoul. It will be interesting to see how successful the airline's no-frills long-haul model will be in a post-pandemic world.

Have you had the chance to fly with ZIPAIR yet? How did you find the overall experience? Let us know your stories in the comments.