ZIPAIR Tokyo plans to open new routes in the United States and Philippines

Shingo Nishida, president of ZIPAIR announced at a press conference its intentions to open two new routes this year from Tokyo – Narita (NRT) to San Francisco, USA (SFO) and Manila, Philippines (MNL) as reported by Aviationwire. The airline will add three aircraft, increasing its fleet to seven Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners.

The airline sees strong VFR (friends and/or family visiting), leisure and cargo demand on both routes, which was a key factor in the launch of these services. The route to Manila (MNL) is scheduled to start between (July – September) and San Francisco (SFO) to start between (April – June).

Consolidation of the company in the United States

The Japanese low-cost carrier concentrates most of its U.S. flights on the West Coast, currently serves Los Angeles (LAX), the main O&D destination between the U.S. and Japan, and San Jose (SJC) which is the gateway to Silicon Valley, with the new connection to SFO the company consolidates its operations in the San Francisco Bay Area.

«There is an idea to increase the number of flights to San Jose, but before that, we decided to start a service to San Francisco. Users can choose what they want and travel,» said Nishida.

ZIPAIR with its new service would be the only low-cost carrier to offer transpacific service at San Francisco International Airport (SFO). The airline connects travelers from Asia and Japan to North America at affordable prices.

SFO is excited that @ZIPAIRTokyo has announced new nonstop service from SFO to @NRT. The Japanese low-cost airline plans to launch service this summer! #nonstopSFO pic.twitter.com/AfPz8yXNnF

— San Francisco International Airport (SFO) ✈️ (@flySFO) February 24, 2023

More aircraft to the fleet

Currently, the carrier has a fleet of four 290-seat Boeing 787-8s in two classes serving its services from Narita (NRT) to Singapore (SIN), Bangkok (BKK), Seoul – Incheon (ICN), Honolulu (HNL), Los Angeles (LAX) and San Jose (SJC).

All its Dreamliners were received from sister carrier Japan Airlines (JAL): the next three units to be received are from JAL and the remaining two aircraft will be new factory deliveries.