Jetstar Japan Eyeing Taiwan Market with Three New Routes

Jetstar Japan, the largest low-cost air carrier (LCC) in Japan, said Wednesday that it will launch direct flights from the Japanese cities of Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya to Taipei from Nov. 27 to tap into the Taiwan market.

Jetstar Japan will introduce the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport-Tokyo Narita route Nov. 28, the Osaka route Dec. 11 and the Nagoya route Dec. 13.

The budget carrier said it will become the first LCC to operate flights between Nagoya and Taiwan.

It said it will initially operate three services per week on each route, increasing to daily flights from Dec. 24, using its fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft.

Jetstar Japan Chief Executive Officer Gerry Turner said in an earlier press release that the carrier expects the new services to be popular with leisure travellers.

"Taiwan is a very popular destination for Japanese travellers and Taiwan is Japan's third-largest source of tourists. We expect these services to increase the market," he said.

Jetstar Japan is a joint venture between major shareholders Qantas Group and Japan Airlines, as well as Mitsubishi Corp. and Century Tokyo Leasing Corp. The airline first took to the skies in Japan in July 2012 and since then has carried more than 10 million passengers.