AIRASIA Group has been forced to delay its return to Japan’s skies as the transport ministry in Tokyo is being “meticulous” on the airline’s operations before granting approval.
The Malaysia-based group initially set up a budget airline with All Nippon Airways in 2011, but that deal was terminated two years later.
AirAsia has since signed an agreement with online retailer Rakuten and a number of other Japanese companies and planned to relaunch its services from Chubu International Airport, near Nagoya, this summer.
“I understand that the bureaucracy side of the procedure is slowing things down,” Geoffrey Tudor, an analyst for Japan Aviation Management Research, told TTG Asia e-Daily. “It is taking more time than they expected to receive approval to operate because of the meticulousness of the transport ministry.”
TTG Asia e-Daily understands that this likely pushes AirAsia Japan’s launch into next year.
It has been suggested that the Japanese authorities are being even more careful than usual after AirAsia’s flight QZ8501 crashed into the Java Sea while en route from Surabaya to Singapore in December.
Given the rapid expansion of the sector, LCCs operating out of Japan are having problems recruiting sufficient qualified pilots and also struggling with Japan’s high operating costs. Peach, which flies primarily from Osaka’s Kansai airport, is the only budget airline close to being in the black.
