was a
low-cost airline
An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...
in Japan wholly owned by
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 mo ...
. Its head office was within Terminal 2 of
Narita International 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 ...
in
Narita,
Chiba Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama Prefecture to the ...
. The airline ceased operations in October 2019 on its merger with
Peach Aviation
, operating as Peach, is a Japanese budget airline. Its head office is at Kansai International Airport and in Tajiri, Osaka Prefecture.
History
Peach was formed in February 2011 as A&F Aviation, a joint venture between All Nippon Airways ...
.
History
![Vanilla Air JA8391 in LOHACO livery](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Vanilla_Air_JA8391_in_LOHACO_livery.jpg)
In June 2013,
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 ...
announced it would exit its investment in
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 ...
, making the company a wholly owned subsidiary of ANA.
AirAsia Japan announced in August that it would continue operation under its current branding through 26 October 2013 and would then be rebranded as Vanilla Air effective 1 November 2013; Vanilla Air would start operations with two aircraft and expand to ten aircraft by fiscal year 2015, with both domestic and international routes. All of AirAsia Japan's staff were to be inherited by Vanilla Air, and the airline would focus on serving resort destinations, eventually expanding to longer routes after an initial focus on short-haul routes.
AirAsia Japan aircraft was transferred to
Indonesia AirAsia
PT Indonesia AirAsia, operating as Indonesia AirAsia, is a low-cost airline based in Tangerang, Indonesia. It operates scheduled domestic, international services and is an Indonesian associate carrier of Malaysian low-fare airline AirAsia. It ...
, with Vanilla Air retaining only two aircraft at the outset. Although Vanilla Air was to continue operating from AirAsia Japan's principal base at
Narita International 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 ...
, the fleet reduction forced the abandonment of the AirAsia Japan hub at
Chubu Centrair International Airport
is an international airport on an artificial island in Ise Bay, Tokoname City in Aichi Prefecture, south of Nagoya in central Japan.
Centrair is classified as a first class airport and is the main international gateway for the Chubu (" ...
. However, Vanilla Air management stated that Chubu was the strongest candidate for a second hub.
At the end of July, prior to the rebranding announcement, the ''Nikkei'' reported that the restructured AirAsia Japan operation would focus on the popular resort markets of
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 ...
,
Okinawa
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city ...
,
Honolulu
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
,
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 ...
and
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 ...
; a later report stated that 70% of its capacity would be international, making better use of slot restrictions at Narita Airport by operating outbound flights late at night and return flights early in the morning. The expansion to 10 aircraft was intended to make the airline more competitive with
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 ...
, a Narita-based low-cost carrier partly owned by
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 ...
.
Vanilla Air operated its first flights from Narita to Okinawa and Taipei on 20 December 2013. Vanilla Air introduced the "Vaniller's Pass," a one-month pass good for travel on its Tokyo-Amami route, in December 2014. Although aimed at surfing and diving enthusiasts in the Tokyo region, passengers used the passes for other purposes such as caring for family members.
In its first years of operations, Vanilla Air faced a pilot shortage and operated at a net loss. In the fiscal year ending March 2016, amid low oil prices and a surge of inbound tourism to Japan, Vanilla Air produced its first annual operating profit, allowing it to unfreeze its expansion plans. In February 2016, it was reported that Vanilla Air would set up a second base at
Taipei Taoyuan International Airport to serve destinations in
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
, making Vanilla Air the first Japanese LCC to utilize
beyond rights from a third country.
In June 2017 Vanilla Air suffered criticism after a disabled passenger flying from Amami to Osaka had to crawl up a set of stairs to enter an aircraft. The passenger, Hideto Kojima, was told he would not be allowed to board the plane if he could not climb the stairs without assistance.
On 22 March 2018,
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 mo ...
announced the integration of its two
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 ...
subsidiaries
Peach Aviation
, operating as Peach, is a Japanese budget airline. Its head office is at Kansai International Airport and in Tajiri, Osaka Prefecture.
History
Peach was formed in February 2011 as A&F Aviation, a joint venture between All Nippon Airways ...
and Vanilla Air, starting in the second half of the FY2018 and to be completed by the end of FY2019. Vanilla would be merged into Peach, planning for a fleet of more than 50 aircraft beyond FY2020 (up from 35 today), operating on more than 50 routes (up from 39) and targeting a ¥150 () billion revenue and a 10%
operating profit
In accounting and finance, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) is a measure of a firm's profit that includes all incomes and expenses (operating and non-operating) except interest expenses and income tax expenses.
Operating income and ope ...
for FY2020. Vanilla Air ceased operations on 26 October 2019.
Corporate affairs
When it was known as AirAsia Japan it had its headquarters in
Shiodome City Center
is a skyscraper in the Shiodome area of Minato, Tokyo, Japan managed by Mitsui Fudosan and Alderney Investments Pte Ltd., a subsidiary of the Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC Private Limited.
Fujitsu's worldwide headquarters are in Sh ...
in
Minato, Tokyo
is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is also called Minato City in English.
It was formed in 1947 as a merger of Akasaka, Azabu and Shiba wards following Tokyo City's transformation into Tokyo Metropolis. The modern Minato ward exhibits th ...
.
The headquarters was in Tokyo Narita Terminal 2.
Destinations
![A Vanilla Air Airbus A320 at Narita 2017](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/A_Vanilla_Air_Airbus_A320_at_Narita_2017.jpg)
Vanilla Air served the following destinations (as of October 2019; at time of merger into
Peach Aviation
, operating as Peach, is a Japanese budget airline. Its head office is at Kansai International Airport and in Tajiri, Osaka Prefecture.
History
Peach was formed in February 2011 as A&F Aviation, a joint venture between All Nippon Airways ...
):
Fleet
The Vanilla Air fleet consisted of the following aircraft (as of October 2019; at time of merger into
Peach Aviation
, operating as Peach, is a Japanese budget airline. Its head office is at Kansai International Airport and in Tajiri, Osaka Prefecture.
History
Peach was formed in February 2011 as A&F Aviation, a joint venture between All Nippon Airways ...
):
Vanilla Air took delivery of its first A320 aircraft on 14 November 2013.
Livery
The Vanilla Air livery featured a white fuselage and a yellow stabilizer, with a blue ‘V’ and three white lines below the ‘V’, therefore making a shape of a flower painted on it. The words 'Vanilla Air' were painted on top of the windows.
References
External links
Vanilla Air
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{{All Nippon Airways
{{Value Alliance
{{Airlines of Japan
Defunct airlines of Japan
Airlines established in 2013
Airlines disestablished in 2019
All Nippon Airways
Defunct low-cost airlines
Airline companies based in Tokyo
Japanese companies established in 2013
Japanese companies disestablished in 2019