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    Recorded at CAPA Asia Aviation Summit 2015, 23-24 Nov 2015

    Vanilla Air CEO Update

    International flights are a growing part of Vanilla Air's operation. President Tomonori Ishii says over 75% of passengers on international flights are foreigners visiting Japan, helping Japan achieve unprecedented visitor arrival figures. At its Tokyo Narita base, Vanilla competes with sister LCC Peach Aviation. Peach is also flying internationally from Haneda, which Vanilla may consider. Vanilla is also considering international service to Micronesia while China is a large future opportunity. Hawaii and Southeast Asia with widebody aircraft could form part of the carrier's 2016-2018 corporate strategy.

    Transcript

    Tomonori Ishii:International flights are now around 20 to 25% Japanese. That means around 75 to 80% foreigners. As for the frequencies for international flights, number 5. So we are going to increase more flights. So Narita is our base. So yeah, we can compete well. Haneda? Yes, if we have a chance, yeah, we'll get into the market anytime because it depends on the slots. Yes, also midnight slots, some they have, but some destinations like Taipei or Hong Kong, it's very difficult to get the slots. If any chance, yeah, anytime, we are ready to get into that market. We are interested in Micronesia. It's a very popular market for Japanese tourists. And China, it's a very big potential inbound market. So we are also interested in such markets. So maybe in the near future we get into that market. We will make a midterm business plan soon, starting 2016 to 2018. But our parent company, AN Holdings, want to make a group strategy starting 2016 to 2020. 2020 is Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics will be held. So we will make a 5-year midterm. And then till now, 2 years after we operate, our pace is very slow. But maybe from next year we can can give. Maybe within the midterm plan, we start to think about not only the short haul, but also middle haul, middle, so long, middle range of area, including Hawaii and Southeast Asia. But in that case, maybe it's challenging because if we want to fly far, We need a wide-body jet, so maybe we study how it will work as an LCC. We're going to challenge every destination and every style of new— so we are going to make a new LCC model. As a member of the ANA Group, they have dual brands, strategy. So our side is LCC brands, so we stick to such an LCC brand, but high quality. We try to— that's why we say Japanese LCC means high quality and with a very offering low and and budget-friendly fares, so with a high quality. This is— these are our targets. Thank you.

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