Peach Aviation (MM, Osaka Kansai) is set to join Skymark Airlines (BC, Tokyo Haneda) in offering budget carrier operations out of Tokyo Haneda this summer with the planned launch of flights to Taipei Taoyuan.
The news comes after Japanese Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Akihiro Ota, told the Asahi Shimbun newspaper at a press conference in Tokyo last week that the MLITT is now accepting applications from LCCs wishing to make use of Haneda's untapped off-peak period from 23h00L to 06h00L. However, in a bid to lure more visitors from overseas, only requests for international routes will be considered.
To stimulate demand, the MLITT last year introduced a scheme in which landing fees for new routes using the midnight slots would be discounted by 50% for the first year, 30% for the second, and 20% for the third. Currently, only 27 slot-pairs out of the total 40 available are in use.
The ZipanguFlyer blog says that although Haneda is a more appealing airport to serve in terms of its proximity to downtown Tokyo, airlines have been hesitant to snap up the graveyard slots largely because public-transport at Haneda is severely limited during those hours, leaving only taxis as a viable option to commute to and from. However, the situation has slowly changed following the introduction of new midnight buses and extended train schedules.
In light of those limitations, airlines, budget carriers in particular, have preferred to operate out of Tokyo Narita where daytime slots are still available unlike at Haneda where major carriers prevail.
This March, Peach too will establish its third base at Tokyo Narita after Osaka Kansai and Okinawa Naha, offering flights to Fukuoka and Sapporo Chitose. Last month, CEO Shinichi Inoue revealed that his airline was considering opening hubs in Sapporo and Tokyo, as well as in Bangkok Don Mueang, Ho Chi Minh City, and Seoul Incheon.
