AirAsia Japan Eyeing 20-Plane Fleet in 4 years

AirAsia Japan will build up its fleet to 20 aircraft over four years, President Yoshinori Odagiri said Friday, with the low-cost carrier aiming to eventually serve the Chinese coast.

The airline, whose owners include Malaysia-based AirAsia and Japanese virtual mall giant Rakuten, is slated to begin operations next spring. It will start out with three routes: domestic service linking Nagoya with Hokkaido and Sendai, plus one to Taipei.

AirAsia Japan will add five planes a year and increase the number of domestic airports it serves after securing aircraft and hangar space, Odagiri told a news conference at company headquarters at Chubu Airport near Nagoya.

Candidates for future service include the western Japanese city of Fukuoka and coastal areas of China.

The company's first aircraft, an Airbus A320, arrived at Chubu Airport on Friday. The plane will be used for crew training and other purposes ahead of the spring launch.

Odagiri said AirAsia Japan has also been in talks with Chubu Airport officials on design and other features of a planned second passenger terminal, which will serve low-cost carriers.

"We will be able to efficiently place staff members once the new terminal is complete," he said. "We hope to start using the facility as early as fiscal 2018."