Skymark Airlines
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() is a Japanese low-cost airline headquartered at
Haneda Airport , officially , and sometimes called as Tokyo Haneda Airport or Haneda International Airport , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Narita International Airport (NRT). It serves as the primary ...
in
Ōta, Tokyo is a special ward located in Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. In English, it is often called Ōta City. , the ward has an estimated population of 716,413, with 379,199 households and a population density of 12,048.65 persons per km2. The total area ...
, Japan. It operates scheduled services with a main base at Haneda Airport, but is also the dominant carrier at
Kobe Airport is an airport on an artificial island just off the coast of Kobe, south of Sannomiya StationAIS Japan
Ibaraki Airport north of Tokyo. Skymark was the first low-cost airline established in Japan, and is the only carrier offering domestic flights at Haneda Airport in competition with the duopoly of
All Nippon Airways , also known as ANA (''Ē-enu-ē'') or is an airline in Japan. Its headquarters are located in Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area of Minato ward of Tokyo. It operates services to both domestic and international destinations and had m ...
(ANA) and
Japan Airlines , also known as JAL (''Jaru'') or , is an international airline and Japan's flag carrier and largest airline as of 2021 and 2022, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Haneda Airport, as w ...
(JAL). Internet entrepreneur Shinichi Nishikubo controlled the company from 2003 to 2015, when the carrier filed for bankruptcy protection after attempting a fleet and service expansion. In August 2015, Skymark creditors agreed to restructure the airline under the control of Japanese private equity fund Integral Corporation (50.1%), with minority investments from
All Nippon Airways , also known as ANA (''Ē-enu-ē'') or is an airline in Japan. Its headquarters are located in Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area of Minato ward of Tokyo. It operates services to both domestic and international destinations and had m ...
(16.5%),
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation is a Japanese multinational banking and financial services institution headquartered in Yurakucho, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The group operates in retail, corporate, and investment banking segment worldwide. It provides financial products and se ...
and the Development Bank of Japan (33.4%). It remains the largest independent airline in Japan and the only independent low-cost carrier, as other low-cost carriers in Japan are controlled by either ANA or JAL.


History


Low-cost airline operations (1996–2010)

Skymark Airlines was founded in November 1996 as an independent domestic airline after
deregulation Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...
of the Japanese airline industry and started operations on 19 September 1998. It was originally owned by a consortium of investors led by the travel agency H.I.S. and headed by H.I.S. president Hideo Sawada; another major early investor was the leasing company Orix. Its initial business plan called for it to be headquartered at
Itami Airport , often referred to as is the primary regional airport for the Kansai region of Japan, including the major cities of Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe. Classified as a first class airport, it is the airport closest to Kyoto, southwest of Kyoto Statio ...
in
Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...
. Takashi Ide, former head of
British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers ...
' operation in Japan, was hired as the company's CEO in 1998. Skymark was able to obtain six slots at
Haneda Airport , officially , and sometimes called as Tokyo Haneda Airport or Haneda International Airport , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Narita International Airport (NRT). It serves as the primary ...
in
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...
in March 1997 and moved its headquarters to the Hamamatsucho district of Tokyo in March 1998. Its first scheduled flight from Haneda to Fukuoka was on 19 September 1998; it added routes from Itami to Fukuoka and Sapporo in 1999, but suspended these routes in 2000 in order to offer more frequencies on the Haneda-Fukuoka route. In 2002, Skymark took delivery of a third
Boeing 767 The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified o ...
aircraft and began service on the Haneda-Kagoshima route, as well as charter service from Haneda to Seoul. In 2003, with a fourth 767 dry-leased from
All Nippon Airways , also known as ANA (''Ē-enu-ē'') or is an airline in Japan. Its headquarters are located in Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area of Minato ward of Tokyo. It operates services to both domestic and international destinations and had m ...
, it began service to Aomori and Tokushima. The airline incurred considerable losses in its first few years of operations. It briefly considered a recapitalization led by Commerzbank but decided not to accept such an investment due to
Air Do , previously known as , is a Japanese regional airline headquartered in Sapporo, Japan. It operates scheduled service between the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido in cooperation with All Nippon Airways, from its hubs at New Chitose Airport in Sap ...
's issues with banks interfering in management. In August 2003, Sawada invited internet entrepreneur Shinichi Nishikubo to become Skymark's largest shareholder with a personal cash investment of 3.5 billion yen (having made around 9 billion yen from the IPO of his internet company in 2000). Nishikubo took over as CEO in 2004, maintaining Ide as a "co-pilot" due to Ide's experience in the aviation industry. On 11 December 2003, Skymark announced that it expected a profit of 470 million
yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar (US$) and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the e ...
for the half-fiscal year ending on 31 October, the first profit made since the airline began operations. By using more efficient aircraft and systems developed in-house, Skymark attempted to undercut JAL and ANA on costs in order to offer lower fares. Skymark had a code sharing partnership with
Japan Airlines , also known as JAL (''Jaru'') or , is an international airline and Japan's flag carrier and largest airline as of 2021 and 2022, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Haneda Airport, as w ...
starting with a Haneda- Osaka Kansai service in 2005–06, and later on the Tokyo Haneda-
Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...
route from Kobe Airport's opening in 2006. JAL withdrew from Kobe in 2010, while Skymark developed Kobe into a secondary base. Skymark purchased the naming rights for the
Kobe Sports Park Baseball Stadium or officially Hotto Motto Field Kobe is a baseball park in Kobe Sports Park, Kobe, Japan. It is primarily used for baseball, and is one of two home fields for the Orix Buffaloes, the other being the Kyocera Dome Osaka. The stadium also occas ...
from 2005 to 2010. Skymark announced in April 2010 that it would commence a "Narita Shuttle" service from Narita International Airport to Asahikawa, Sapporo, Fukuoka, and Okinawa in late 2011 and early 2012.


Shift to premium service (2010–2014)

In November 2010 Skymark announced negotiations with
Airbus Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace manufacturer, aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft througho ...
for an order of four
Airbus A380 The Airbus A380 is a large wide-body airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and only full-length double-deck jet airliner. Airbus studies started in 1988, and the project was annou ...
aircraft and two options, making it the first Japanese airline to order the type. The airline announced its intent to use the aircraft on long-haul trunk routes out of
Narita Airport Narita International Airport ( ja, 成田国際空港, Narita Kokusai Kūkō) , also known as Tokyo-Narita, formerly and originally known as , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Haneda Airport ...
such as
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
,
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
and New York, and that they would be operated in a two-class, 394-seat configuration – with 114 seats in
business class Business class is a travel class available on many commercial airlines and rail lines, known by brand names which vary, by airline or rail company. In the airline industry, it was originally intended as an intermediate level of service between ...
and 280 in a
premium economy Premium economy class, also known as elite economy class or economy plus class, is a travel class offered on some airlines. It is usually positioned between standard economy class and business class in terms of price, comfort, and available a ...
class. Nishikubo envisioned an unheard-of fully-flat product in economy class, which the Skymark team calculated would break even at a one-way fare of 100,000 yen. As Skymark began to prepare for international service, it began to face stiff competition from a new group of
low-cost carrier A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (occasionally referred to as '' no-frills'', ''budget'' or '' discount carrier'' or ''airline'', and abbreviated as ''LCC'') is an airline that is operated with an especially high emphasis on minimizing op ...
s in Japan beginning in 2012, particularly from
AirAsia Japan was the name of two incarnations of a Japanese low-cost airline, which had operated as a joint venture between AirAsia of Malaysia and Japanese partners. AirAsia Japan's first incarnation was founded in July 2011, and was based at Tokyo's ...
(later
Vanilla Air was a low-cost airline in Japan wholly owned by All Nippon Airways. Its head office was within Terminal 2 of Narita International Airport in Narita, Chiba Prefecture. The airline ceased operations in October 2019 on its merger with Peach Av ...
) and
Jetstar Japan is a Japanese low-cost airline headquartered in Narita, Chiba. Initially planned to commence flights in late 2012, it launched ahead of schedule on 3 July 2012. The airline serves destinations across the Asia-Pacific region, using a fleet of ...
at its Narita base. This led to a reduction in Skymark's frequencies on highly contested routes such as Narita-Sapporo and Narita-Fukuoka, and a refocusing of aircraft on more exclusive routes such as Narita-Ishigaki. Skymark attempted a more competitive domestic offering by executing leases for seven
Airbus A330-300 The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus. Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A34 ...
aircraft in July 2012. Skymark announced that it would outfit these aircraft in a 271-seat single-class premium configuration with 38-inch
seat pitch An airline seat is a seat on an airliner in which passengers are accommodated for the duration of the journey. Such seats are usually arranged in rows running across the airplane's fuselage. A diagram of such seats in an aircraft is called an ...
and 22-inch seat width, tentatively called "Green Seats" and comparable to the domestic "Class J" offering on
Japan Airlines , also known as JAL (''Jaru'') or , is an international airline and Japan's flag carrier and largest airline as of 2021 and 2022, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Haneda Airport, as w ...
, to win market share among business travelers on the key domestic trunk routes from
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...
to
Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...
and
Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...
. Skymark also had plans to install "Green Seat" cabins on its 737 fleet to create a 2-class configuration but cancelled the plan in early 2014 in favor of keeping a single-class 737 fleet for competition with other LCCs. Somewhat controversially, Skymark announced that A330 flight attendants would wear
miniskirt A miniskirt (sometimes hyphenated as mini-skirt, separated as mini skirt, or sometimes shortened to simply mini) is a skirt with its hemline well above the knees, generally at mid-thigh level, normally no longer than below the buttocks; and a ...
uniforms, in contrast to Skymark's usual
polo shirt A polo shirt, tennis shirt, golf shirt, or chukker shirt is a form of shirt with a collar. Polo shirts are usually short sleeved but can be long; they were used by Polo#Players, polo players originally in India in 1859 and in Great Britain durin ...
uniforms, for the first six months of operation of each route. The Japan Federation of Cabin Attendants publicly complained about the idea, claiming that the uniforms were unsafe to the women wearing them and would lead to harassment and objectification. Starting in 2013,
Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...
was highly interested in starting a
codeshare agreement A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...
with Skymark, mainly due to Delta's expansion of its own Tokyo services. Following ANA's investment in Skymark however, the possibility of a codeshare agreement and further partnership with Delta was reduced.


Financial downturn and losses (2014–2015)

Skymark's finances were hit hard by foreign exchange rate fluctuations. In February 2011, when Skymark placed its initial A380 order, the Japanese yen was trading at historically high levels of around 82 yen to the U.S. dollar. After the introduction of the
Abenomics refers to the economic policies implemented by the Government of Japan led by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since the December 2012 general election. They are named after Shinzō Abe, who served a second stint as Prime Minister of Japa ...
policy in late 2012, the yen plunged in value, reaching around 102 yen to the dollar in early 2015. Many of Skymark's major investments and expenses were denominated in dollars—including the A380 orders, the A330 leases and its fuel costs—while its domestic ticket revenue was in yen, and the airline did not engage in exchange rate hedging. Skymark recorded its first net loss in five years for the March 2013 – 2014 fiscal year. In early February 2014, Skymark announced that it would downsize the Narita operation to only three destinations (Sapporo, Yonago and Okinawa). Nishikubo stated that the base lost money in every month except August and that all LCCs were under pressure there. He also expressed some reservations about the A330 fleet plan, stating that while the airline had funding in place for the first two aircraft, the third and subsequent deliveries could be impacted by the performance of Skymark's domestic operation as well as the success of its initial international service. Skymark planned to re-deploy 737s from the Narita and Haneda bases for charter services to destinations such as
Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
. Airbus completed Skymark's first A380 in April 2014 and sent the aircraft to Germany for cabin installation. In May, Skymark requested to reschedule a meeting with a European bank involved in financing of its A380 order. Airbus interpreted this as a signal that Skymark sought to renegotiate the contract, and sent a team of financial advisors to Skymark's head office in June. After a week of meetings, they proposed an amendment of the A380 purchase agreement, with the condition that if Skymark did not meet a certain revenue target, Nishikubo would be required to sell his shares to an outside investor chosen by Airbus. Nishikubo rejected this proposal in early July, believing there was a significant chance that Skymark would miss the target. In late July, Airbus announced that it had terminated the airline's A380 orders, citing concerns over the airline's ability to fund the purchase in light of its poor financial performance. Nishikubo complained the airline was not given the opportunity to revise the contract, but simply received a fax notifying it of the termination. After further negotiations, Airbus sued Skymark for damages in a London court; it was reported that Skymark had already paid Airbus 26.5 billion yen for the aircraft and could face up to 70 billion yen in penalties. Skymark's A330s entered service on the Haneda-Fukuoka route in June 2014, but the additional seat capacity depressed Skymark's load factors on the route. Although Skymark's 737s were booked to more than 80% of capacity up to May 2014, the much larger A330s were only booked at 67% of capacity as of December 2014, while ANA or JAL achieved similar load factors with much higher-capacity aircraft. In an attempt to raise revenue, Skymark raised advance purchase fares on the route by 23% in October, bringing them closer to the level of JAL and ANA and further harming the competitiveness of the service. As the Airbus dispute lingered, Skymark pursued new sources of cash. It announced in November 2014 that it was exploring a cooperative relationship with
Japan Airlines , also known as JAL (''Jaru'') or , is an international airline and Japan's flag carrier and largest airline as of 2021 and 2022, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Haneda Airport, as w ...
under which Skymark's 36 daily round trips to and from
Haneda Airport , officially , and sometimes called as Tokyo Haneda Airport or Haneda International Airport , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Narita International Airport (NRT). It serves as the primary ...
would be code shared with JAL, subject to approval by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Skymark initially pursued JAL due to a perception that JAL could not threaten Skymark's independence; the terms of JAL's bankruptcy restructuring prevented it from making an investment in Skymark. However, the Japanese government pressed Skymark to make the codeshare trilateral with both JAL and ANA, reflecting the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's preference for ANA. Skymark also attempted a
sale and leaseback Leaseback, short for "sale-and-leaseback", is a financial transaction in which one sells an asset and leases it back for the long term; therefore, one continues to be able to use the asset but no longer owns it. The transaction is generally done fo ...
of over 1 billion yen in equipment as a cash-raising measure, negotiating with a JAL-affiliated trading company and then with an ANA-affiliated trading company. In January 2015, ANA refused to provide financial support to Skymark, and several investment funds also balked at the prospect of injecting cash into the company.


Bankruptcy (2015–2016)

Skymark filed for
bankruptcy protection Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
under the Corporate Rehabilitation Law (equivalent to a
Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...
in the United States of America or an
administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...
in the United Kingdom) at the Tokyo District Court in January 2015 after reporting ¥71 billion (or $571.3 million) in liabilities. It announced that Nishikubo would step down as CEO and would be replaced by CFO Masakazu Arimori. Skymark announced that the A330s would be withdrawn from operation in March, and that various services to Okinawa and Kyushu would be eliminated. In an attempt to regain price competitiveness, Skymark introduced a fare of ¥8,000 on the Haneda-Fukuoka route, 1,800 cheaper than the next cheapest competitor, StarFlyer. Skymark was approached by several potential sponsors early in its bankruptcy proceedings, including ANA,
AirAsia Capital A Berhad, () operating as AirAsia (stylized as ''airasia'') is a Malaysian multinational low-cost airline headquartered near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the largest airline in Malaysia by fleet size and destinations. AirAsia operate ...
,
Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...
and
American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
. Skymark's restructuring plan, submitted to the court in May, called for turnaround sponsor Japanese private equity fund Integral to own 50.1% of the recapitalized company, ANA to own 16.5%, and the remainder 33.4% to be owned by an investment fund controlled by government-affiliated Development Bank of Japan and
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation is a Japanese multinational banking and financial services institution headquartered in Yurakucho, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The group operates in retail, corporate, and investment banking segment worldwide. It provides financial products and se ...
, with Integral providing the new chairman, DBJ providing the new CEO, and code sharing between Skymark and ANA. Intrepid Aviation and
Airbus Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace manufacturer, aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft througho ...
, who together held around two-thirds of Skymark's debt, opposed the plan, and Intrepid submitted a competing plan which called for another (unspecified) airline to sponsor Skymark's restructuring. Intrepid reportedly approached several foreign airlines seeking support for this alternative plan. In the final creditor vote on 6 August 2015, the plan supported by ANA and Integral defeated a competing plan supported by Intrepid and Delta. The Delta plan was initially assumed to be the front runner based on Airbus's closer relationship with Delta, but Airbus ultimately switched sides and supported the ANA plan. The '' Nihon Keizai Shimbun'' reported that ANA made a conditional offer in late July to purchase Airbus aircraft, which Delta did not match by a prescribed midnight deadline, leading Airbus to switch its stance on the restructuring. ANA announced an order for three A380 aircraft in late 2015, which even ANA admitted was not consistent with its overall fleet plan, leading to speculation that ANA had agreed to accept Skymark's A380 orders in exchange for Airbus's support.


Post-bankruptcy (2016–present)

After exiting bankruptcy in 2016, Skymark's finances improved more quickly than expected; the company recorded 6.7 billion yen in operating profit in the March 2016 – 2017 fiscal year. Skymark focused its network expansion on its hubs in Kobe and Ibaraki, and announced plans for 150 daily flights in summer 2018, up from 138 in summer 2017. As of December 2017, the airline planned to re-list its stock by 2020. Skymark announced in June 2018 that it intended to offer international charter flights from Narita to
Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...
and
Palau Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Caro ...
, its first international services, with the flights to Saipan subsequently becoming scheduled flights in late 2019. In August 2020, the airline announced Shimojishima Airport as a new destination, with flights beginning in October 2020. In November 2022, Skymark announced that they plan to acquire up to 12
Boeing 737 MAX The Boeing 737 MAX is the fourth generation of the Boeing 737, a narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA), a division of American company Boeing. It succeeds the Boeing 737 Next Generation (NG ...
planes which includes the
737 MAX 8 The Boeing 737 MAX is the fourth generation of the Boeing 737, a narrow-body airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA), a division of American company Boeing. It succeeds the Boeing 737 Next Generation (NG) and competes with t ...
and the 737 MAX 10.


Routes

Skymark Airlines has operated scheduled flights to the following destinations :


Codeshare agreements

Skymark has previously sought or established
codeshare agreement A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...
s with airlines including
All Nippon Airways , also known as ANA (''Ē-enu-ē'') or is an airline in Japan. Its headquarters are located in Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area of Minato ward of Tokyo. It operates services to both domestic and international destinations and had m ...
,
Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...
, and
Japan Airlines , also known as JAL (''Jaru'') or , is an international airline and Japan's flag carrier and largest airline as of 2021 and 2022, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Haneda Airport, as w ...
, but since 2018 has insisted on operating independently of these partnerships.


Fleet


Current fleet

The Skymark Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of June 2020):


Former fleet


Fleet development

Previously, Skymark operated seven
Boeing 767-200 The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified on ...
and
Boeing 767-300 The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified on ...
widebody aircraft between 1998 and 2005. Some 767 fuselages were painted in special "billboard" liveries advertising third-party companies, including Yahoo Japan,
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
,
J-Phone is a Japanese multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo which focuses on investment management. The Group primarily invests in companies operating in technology, energy, and financial sectors. It also runs th ...
and USEN Japan. The six 767s acquired by Skymark carried registrations JA767A to JA767F; the seventh, JA8255, was leased from All Nippon Airways from 2003 to 2004. Under Nishikubo, Skymark began acquiring new
Boeing 737-800 The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG, or 737 Next Gen, is a narrow-body aircraft powered by two jet engines and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third generation derivative of the Boein ...
narrowbody aircraft in 2005 and eventually retired the 767 from its fleet in 2009. Skymark ceased flying the A330 and most of the 737s during its bankruptcy in 2015. All A380 orders from Skymark were rescinded as well, although All Nippon Airways proceeded to take three of the five original orders. The two remaining Skymark A380s that were placed into long-term storage following their production were taken up by
Emirates Emirates may refer to: * United Arab Emirates, a Middle Eastern country * Emirate, any territory ruled by an emir ** Gulf emirates, emirates located on the Persian Gulf ** Emirates of the United Arab Emirates, the individual emirates * The Emirat ...
.


Frequent flyer program

Skymark planned to introduce a
frequent-flyer program A frequent-flyer program (American English) or frequent-flyer programme (British English) is a loyalty program offered by an airline. Many airlines have frequent-flyer programs designed to encourage airline customers enrolled in the program ...
in January 2014 to coincide with the launch of its premium domestic service, though the induction of the program was delayed in December 2013 in order to focus on preparing for international service, before being postponed indefinitely. While the airline does not retain its own frequent-flyer program, Skymark has provided award seats to members of the
Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...
SkyMiles SkyMiles is the frequent-flyer program of Delta Air Lines that offers points (or "miles") to passengers traveling on most fare types, as well as to consumers who utilize Delta co-branded credit cards, which accumulate towards free awards such as ai ...
program since June 2011, although the two airlines do not codeshare, nor can Skymark flights be used to accrue under Delta's SkyMiles program.


References


External links


Official website



Skymark Airlines fleet
{{Navbox Airlines of Japan Airlines of Japan Low-cost carriers Airlines established in 1996 Companies that have filed for bankruptcy in Japan Japanese brands Airline companies based in Tokyo Japanese companies established in 1996