AirAsia Japan commences operations on 01-Aug-2012

AirAsia Japan launched (01-Aug-2012) operations today (01-Aug-2012) with Tokyo Narita-Sapporo and Tokyo Narita-Fukuoka services on 01-Aug-2012, to be followed by Tokyo Narita-Okinawa service on 03-Aug-2012 - see Route Changes Table for more information. The carrier, which reported load factors of 80% on the initial Fukuoka service, received approval from Japan MLIT on 02-Feb-2012. Details of the carrier include:

• Headquarters: Tokyo Minato-ku;
• Date of incorporation: 31-Aug-2011;
• Capital: JPY2500 million (USD32 million), with capital expected to increase to JPY5000 million (USD64 million) sequentially;
• Ownership: All Nippon Airways (ANA) (67%) and AirAsia (33%) (including non-voting equity shares of 51% for ANA and 49% for AirAsia);
• President and CEO: Kazuyuki Iwakata;
• Executive vice president: Masao Kubota;
• Directors: Yoshinori Odagiri, Yuichi Tominaga, Toshihiro Miyamae;
• Fleet: Two A320s. [more - original PR - MLIT - Japanese] [more - original PR - AirAsia Japan]

The carrier is targeting 10 million passengers p/a and a fleet of 30 aircraft within five years. [more - CAPA Analysis]

AirAsia Group: “This is a dream come true for all of us at AirAsia. I have always believed in dreaming the impossible, but seeing AirAsia Japan’s inaugural flights take-off today puts a smile on my face. It has only been one year since we announced AirAsia Japan’s establishment and now we already have 2 aircraft, 243 staff in Japan and 3 domestic routes on the day we start our operations. Congratulations to Kazuyuki and his team for pulling this off," Tony Fernandes, CEO. Source: Company statement, 01-Aug-2012.

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