Tourists in Japan now have a budget-friendly option to visit the islands of Hawaii over the winter period. From December 19^th, Japan Airlines’ low-cost subsidiary Zipair will operate 16 return flights from Tokyo to Honolulu, with fares starting from as low as $180.

Kon'nichiwa Hawaii

Budget subsidiary of Japan Airlines Zipair is taking a leap into the unknown with new services launching to the United States. Specifically, it will fly from Tokyo to Honolulu in Hawaii from December 19^th, with 16 round trips scheduled to take place from then up to the end of January.

Zipair will fly its Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner on select days over the Christmas and New Year period. Outbound flights will be ZG2, departing from Tokyo Narita at 20:15 and arriving in Hawaii at 07:55. Return flights are ZG1 and will depart from Honolulu at 09:55, arriving in Tokyo at 14:30 the next day. The full schedule is below:

The flight announcement comes just weeks after Zipair secured its ETOPS Certification for the long trip across the Pacific. The route will cater to Japanese tourists only, as they are now permitted to visit Hawaii following a preflight clear COVID test. US travelers, on the other hand, are still not allowed to visit Japan.

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What to expect from Zipair’s Honolulu flights

According to the airline, the usual standard of service will be available on its 787 Dreamliner. The aircraft is configured in two classes, with a total of 290 seats. Business class is called ‘ZIP Full-Flat,’ which, as you might guess, features a lie-flat seat product in a 1-2-1 configuration.

Unusually for a business class seat, passengers shouldn’t expect any inbuilt IFE. Instead, Zipair offers streaming services via your own device. The airline has been offering free WiFi on its Asian routes and looks set to continue this trend as it goes transpacific. As well as entertainment, passengers in all classes can enjoy smartphone ordering for buy on board products, the first of its kind.

In line with its low-cost ethos, Zipair’s business class product is usually sold on an unbundled basis. This means passengers can choose from Simple (nothing but the seat), Biz (select your seat and take a bag), Value (seat selection, bag, and meal), or Premium (all of the above plus amenity kit). However, for Hawaii, it appears to only be selling the Value fares in both business and economy cabins.

Fares start from $180 in economy and $544 in business. There’s also a reduced fare for under seven-year-olds, which is just $64. While the Value fare usually includes a checked bag, meals, and seat selection, Zipair says that on the Hawaii flights, these are subject to additional charges.

Is now a good time to launch flights to Hawaii?

Tokyo to Honolulu is an incredibly popular route. After all, rival ANA believes the route can support three full-time A380s in normal times, with its Flying Honu exclusively deployed on this service. Pre-COVID, there would sometimes be as many as 12 daily services between the two cities, but none were from a low-cost airline.

Given the economic issues that have been caused by the pandemic, there is likely to be a significant uptick in budget-conscious tourism coming out of Japan. Added to this, there is far less competition on the route at the current time, given that many airlines are yet to restart services to the island state.

While Zipair could make a good go of the route over the Christmas and New Year period, it’s being cautious about this expansion. Tickets are on sale now, but only up to January 31^st. If things go well, we could see the service introduced as a permanent fixture, but for now, Zipair has the ability to back out of the market if things don’t go as well as it hopes.