AirAsia gets final approval for Japan joint venture

Wednesday, 07 Oct, 2015 0

Budget airline AirAsia has finally been granted an air operator’s license by the Japanese aviation regulator.

Approval has been granted by Japan’s ministry of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism, said AirAsia Japan Co Ltd chief executive officer Yoshinori Odagiri.

The Japan unit is a joint venture between AirAsia and Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten Inc.

Fellow Japanese firms Noevir Holdings, Octave Japan and Alpen Co also hold stakes in the new company.

AirAsia previously had a registered airline business in Japan but that ended in 2013 when the low cost carrier and All Nippon Airways ended their partnership.

"AirAsia Japan is scheduled to commence operations from their base at Chubu Centrair International Airport in Aichi prefecture to Shin-Chitose Airport in Sapporo, Sendai Airport in Sendai and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in Taipei in spring 2016," an AirAsia statement said.

AirAsia’s planned flights to Hawaii are also dependent on having a base in Japan as the proposed Kuala Lumpur-Honolulu service requires a refueling stop in Osaka.

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