Peach Aviation, Japan's first LCC, continues expansion as Japan surpasses tourism targets

Slow and steady wins the race. That would be the message from Peach Aviation, Japan's first of the new wave of LCCs that entered the country from 2012 onwards. Although it has been said that Japan is not a market where LCCs would thrive, Peach has shown that success, with time, can be achieved. It has been profitable for two years and is building up towards a fleet of 20 A320s. Peach has been a quiet achiever, not exhibiting Jetstar Japan's aggressive growth or Vanilla Air's slower ramp up.

Over the last year Peach has focused on international growth, increasing domestic flights by 2% in Dec-2015 compared to Dec-2014 - but international by 43%. International flights now account for 35% of Peach's total network. Peach's international growth coincides with the inbound tourism influx to Japan, which expects to surpass 20 million foreign visitors in 2015, five years ahead of schedule. Japan will have added 6.6 million visitors between 2014 and 2015. In comparison, between 2005 and 2014, Japan added only 6.7 million visitors; the growth of a decade will now be achieved in a single year.