Japan’s growing LCC sector: part two – JAL Group eyes expansion for Jetstar Japan and Zipair

The Japan Airlines Group is using a multi-pronged strategy to tap into the strong market for LCCs in Japan, and an ownership restructuring of its primary LCC signals more growth.

This two-part analysis examines the LCC stables of Japan's two major airline groups, and some significant changes to their LCC/hybrid holdings.

Part one focused on the ANA Group, which recently shut down its widebody hybrid carrier AirJapan to concentrate on Peach.

Part two will look at JAL Group's LCCs, including the ownership changes and upcoming rebranding for its largest LCC Jetstar Japan.

Jetstar Japan has been growing its international operations in particular, with its domestic capacity relatively flat.

The JAL group also includes long-haul LCC unit Zipair, which has ambitious plans for further fleet and network growth, and Spring Japan, an LCC unit aimed at the Chinese market.

Overall, LCCs' share of capacity in the Japanese market has risen to be close to the Asia Pacific average, and just behind the LCC share in the U.S.

However, it still trails many other markets, indicating there is significant scope for further growth for this business model.