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November 22, 2009

Planes

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Airlines

JAL Group (Japan Airlines)

Serves over 60 airports in Japan. Runs about 650 domestic flights each day.

  • JAL Domestic
  • JAL International
  • Japan Transocean Air
  • Hokkaido Air System
  • Ryukyu Air Commuter
  • Several others

ANA Group (All Nippon Airways)

Serves over 50 airports in Japan. Runs about 850 domestic flights each day.

  • All Nippon Airways
  • Several smaller airlines such as Air Nippon

Skymark Airlines

Operates cheaper flights.

Air Do

Also known as Hokkaido International Airlines. Runs cheaper flights.

  • Tokyo's Haneda Airport to various destinations in Hokkaido, including Sapporo, Asahikawa, Hakodate and Memanbetsu
  • Flights between Sendai and Sapporo
  • Flights between Niigata and Sapporo (from April 2009)

Skynet Asia Airways

Runs cheaper flights.

Starflyer

Started operation in March 2006. Runs cheaper flights.

IBEX Airlines

Formerly known as Fair Inc. Runs cheaper flights.

Domestic

The JAL Group and the ANA Grou - each consisting of several airlines and serving over fifty airports across the country - are the main players for domestic flights. The smaller airline companies compete with JAL and ANA on the country's most popular routes, and may offer lower rates.

The deregulation of Japan's airline industry and increasing competition from discount airlines mean that domestic airfares have dropped significantly in recent years. Today, airplanes can be an economical, sometimes cheaper alternative to the shinkansen (bullet train).

International

Most of the world's major airlines serve Japan, especially Narita. Below is a list of Japan's international airports.

Airfare

Here are some common air routes and some examples of their approximate fares. Examples of theoretical discounted fares are in bold. Please use these fares as a rough guide, and not the final word.

  • Tokyo - Sapporo
  • JAL/ANA: 30,000 Yen (12,000 - 21,000 Yen)
  • Air Do: 25,000 Yen (10,000 - 18,000 Yen)
  • Skymark: 19,000 Yen (10,000 - 18,000 Yen)
  • Tokyo - Okinawa
  • JAL/ANA: 37,000 Yen (13,000 - 32,000 Yen)
  • Skymark: 24,000 Yen (10,000 - 20,000 Yen)
  • Tokyo - Osaka/Kobe
  • JAL/ANA: 20,000 Yen (10,000 - 12,000 Yen)
  • Skymark: 10,000 Yen (5,000 - 7,000 Yen)
  • Tokyo - Fukuoka
  • JAL/ANA: 33,000 Yen (13,000 - 22,000 Yen)
  • Skymark: 20,000 Yen (10,000 - 19,000 Yen)
  • Osaka - Fukuoka
  • JAL/ANA: 20,000 Yen (11,000 - 15,000 Yen)
  • Osaka - Sapporo
  • JAL/ANA: 37,000 Yen (13,000 - 33,000 Yen)
  • Osaka - Okinawa
  • JAL/ANA: 30,000 Yen (11,000 - 27,000 Yen)
  • Nagoya - Sapporo
  • JAL/ANA: 33,000 Yen (14,000 - 30,000 Yen)
  • Nagoya - Fukuoka
  • JAL/ANA: 23,000 Yen (11,000 - 15,000 Yen)
  • Nagoya - Okinawa
  • JAL/ANA: 35,000 Yen (14,000 - 30,000 Yen)

Expert Tips

Virtually all of Japan's airlines now offer discount specials on domestic flights. The discounts are often dramatic, and it pays to check out a few different offers before buying your ticket.

  • Book in advance (60 days or more) and save big.
  • JAL Time Waribiki and ANA Totsuzen Waribiki: Savings on last-minute tickets. Applies to purchase of two or more round trip tickets on specified flights departing on weekends, and when reserved ten or fewer days in advance of the boarding date.
  • Discount airlines sometimes offer cheaper flights than their competitors.
  • Round-trip, early morning, and late night tickets are often cheaper than others.

Passes

  • The Japan Air Pass acts much like the Japan Rail Pass, and allows you to buy any flight within Japan for only 12,000 yen. Just like the Japan Rail Pass, this offer is available only to foreign tourists and can only be purchased outside of Japan. It can only be used by non-residents of Japan who arrive to and depart from Japan by international flights. There is a limit of one air pass of the same airline per person and visit. These passes can only be used for a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 5 flights, and the first ticket must be purchased at the time of pass purchase. You also need to specify your routes at the time of purchase, but the actual tickets can be bought later. The pass is valid for 60 days after the date of the first domestic flight. There are blackout periods when the air passes can't be used. The typical blackout periods are mid December to early January (winter holidays), early to late March (spring holidays) and mid July to late August (summer holidays).
  • Oneworld Yokoso Visit Japan Pass
  • Price: 10,000 Yen per domestic flight
  • Validity: 1-5 domestic flights by JAL Group
  • Blackout: Blackout periods through March 2009:
  • August 8, 2008 to August 18, 2008
  • December 20, 2008 to January 4, 2009
  • Eligibility: Foreign visitors who fly to/via Japan by oneworld, which includes JAL, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Quantas and several other airlines.
  • JAL Welcome To Japan Fare
  • Price: 13,000 Yen per domestic flight*
  • Validity: 2-5 domestic flights by JAL Group
  • Blackout: Blackout periods through March 2009:
  • July 18, 2008 to August 31, 2008
  • December 12, 2008 to January 4, 2009
  • March 6, 2009 to March 31, 2009
  • Eligibility: Foreign visitors who fly to/via Japan by any airline.
  • Star Alliance Japan Airpass
  • Price: 11,000 Yen per domestic flight*
  • Validity: 1-5 domestic flights by ANA Group
  • Blackout: Blackout periods through March 2009:
  • July 18, 2008 to August 31, 2008
  • December 19, 2008 to January 5, 2009
  • March 13, 2009 to March 31, 2009
  • Eligibility: Foreign visitors who fly to/via Japan by Star Alliance, which includes ANA, United, US Airways, Air Canada, Singapore Airlines, Asiana Airlines, Lufthansa and several other airlines.
  • ANA Visit Japan Fare
  • Price: 13,000 Yen per domestic flight*
  • Validity: 2-5 domestic flights by ANA Group
  • Blackout: Blackout periods through March 2009:
  • July 18, 2008 to August 31, 2008
  • December 19, 2008 to January 5, 2009
  • March 13, 2009 to March 31, 2009
  • Eligibility: Foreign visitors who fly to/via Japan by any airline.

Airports

Haneda Airport in Tokyo is Japan's busiest airport, handling most of the domestic flights to and from Tokyo. Tokyo's Narita Airport handles mostly international flights and only a very small number of domestic flights.

Kansai Airport (Osaka) serves both international and domestic flights. Osaka's second airport, Itami Airport, remains Japan's second busiest hub for domestic air traffic.

Other major airports in Japan include Central Japan Airport (Nagoya), Fukuoka Airport, Shin-Chirose Airport (Sapporo), Kobe Airport, and Naha Airport (Okinawa).

See also

External links

  • JAL English version of the JAL Japan website.
  • ANA English version of the ANA Japan website.
  • Skymark Airlines English version of the official website.
  • IBEX Airlines English version of the official website.
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Some content adapted from Wikipedia.org.