ZIPAIR (ZG, Tokyo Narita) is considering further expansion to the US East Coast while continuing to prioritise Asia and the United States over Europe, with president Yasuhiro Fukada clarifying that new long-haul routes do not have to await the arrival of the carrier's planned B787-9s.

In a recent interview with AIRLINE web magazine, Fukada said the US and Asia will remain ZIPAIR's priority markets as it grows toward a fleet of around 20 aircraft. Europe remains further down the list, he said, because the inability to overfly Russia currently makes such services less cost-effective.

Fukada said ZIPAIR is looking at the US East Coast as it prioritises potential new destinations across its transpacific network, adding that route selection is based primarily on the size of passenger flows rather than whether a market is predominantly business-oriented.

"I think Europe is still a long way off, until we can fly there peacefully and stably," he said. "For now, we're focusing on the Pacific routes between Asia and the United States, including the US East Coast, and prioritising accordingly."

Fukada also said the airline had not imposed a requirement that East Coast services wait for the B787-9. While the larger variant could be better suited to ultra-long-haul markets with stronger demand for full-flat seats, he said overall fleet size and the resulting scheduling flexibility are more important to operating longer sectors.

ZIPAIR expects to add its ninth B787-8 in autumn 2026 and its tenth in early 2027. Fukada has previously said the airline tentatively expects its first B787-9s, transferred from parent JAL - Japan Airlines, in the second half of 2027, with plans to grow its overall fleet to more than 20 aircraft within five years.