JAPAN’S Peach Aviation is in the pink of health, if its latest move to carve out a new base is anything to go by.
Based at Osaka’s Kansai International Airport, the Japanese LCC has branched out to Okinawa with the launch of an Okinawa (Naha)-Taipei (Taoyuan) service on September 20, marking its 17th route.
Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily on the sidelines of the CAPA Aviation Asia Summit & LCC Congress 2014, Shinichi Inoue, representative director and CEO of Peach Aviation, said: “Okinawa’s airport operates 24 hours a day, same as Kansai airport. The prefecture is close to the rest of Asia, and has many sightseeing attractions of its own, making it attractive even to foreigners.”
Inoue also shared that Peach hopes to adopt the same approach to expansion and operation as Ryanair, which has over 60 bases in Europe and North Africa, although he was unable to comment on the carrier’s next base. “That depends on business circumstances,” he added.
The airline’s vice president, communications, Naoto Domeki, also told TTG Asia e-Daily that the airline is keen to connect with Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore, but no time frame has been drawn up for the commencement of these routes.
Established in 2011, Peach Aviation began its first flights in 2012 and made history when it turned a net profit in just 25 months.
