Japan"s Low-Cost ZIPAIR Launches San Jose"s Only Transpacific Route

It'll be the airline's third US route.

After almost three years, San Jose, California – not too far from San Francisco – will again have Asia flights. This time, however, it will not be by All Nippon or Hainan Airlines, both of which served the airport in pre-pandemic 2020. Instead, it'll be by no-frills ZIPAIR, the wholly owned subsidiary of Japan Airlines. It will be the third airline in three decades to serve Tokyo to San Jose.

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ZIPAIR to San Jose

On December 12th, Japan's leisure-focused carrier ZIPAIR will take off from Tokyo Narita (NRT) bound for San Jose (SJC). Located 5,154 miles (8,295km) apart, the route is now bookable and has flights on Mondays, Thursdays, and Sundays. It has the following schedule, with all times local:

• Tokyo Narita to San Jose: 16:00 - 08:00 AM (same day arrival; 9h block time)
• San Jose to Tokyo Narita: 10:00 - 14:30 (+1) (11h 30m)

ZIPAIR's B787-8s

ZIPAIR, whose first revenue-generating passenger flight was in October 2020 amid the pandemic, only uses B787-8s. It has four, averaging 10.4 years, each from parent Japan Airlines. It expects two more B787-8s in the financial years ending March 2024, 2025, and 2026. Come March 2026, it should have ten aircraft.

Each B787 has 290 seats: 18 in business (called ZIP Full Flat) and 272 in economy. There is no seat-back entertainment, and everything is unbundled, even in business. Indeed, even passengers in ZIP Full Flat effectively get only the seat. They can choose from three different bundles of products or specific items, including baggage, food, and seat selection.

A long-served market

ZIPAIR is the third airline between San Jose and Tokyo. American Airlines first served it in March 1991, and its 1x daily flight – which primarily used the MD-11 and B777-200ER – existed until October 2006. While American attempted a San Jose hub twice – first in the 1990s, which closed due to a considerable loss, then again in the 'naughties' post-Reno Air – its Tokyo service ran throughout this period.

After six and a half years of absence, Tokyo-San Jose returned in June 2013, not with American but with ANA. It operated 1x daily, complementing its 1x daily to San Francisco. San Jose mainly deployed the B787-8, although the larger B787-9 variant was sometimes used. Like many routes globally, the pandemic meant it ended in March 2020.

Between March 1991 and March 2020, the US Department of Transport shows that some 2,366,873 passengers flew between San Jose and Tokyo Narita, whether point-to-point or connecting over the US or Japan airports.

ZIPAIR's third US route

Tokyo Narita to San Jose will join Honolulu (which began in December 2020) and Los Angeles (December 2021). Looking ahead to the week San Jose starts, ZIPAIR, which concentrates both on the bottom end of significant markets and unserved airport pairs, will link Honolulu 3x weekly and Los Angeles 1x daily.