Two years after the AirAsia Group announced its intention to re-enter the local Japanese market, the venture has been unable to launch. AirAsia Japan Mk II was announced in Jul-2015 and in Oct-2015 it received its AOC. A Mar/Apr-2016 launch was envisaged, but AirAsia Japan has yet to secure final approval. A 2017 launch appears unlikely while some of the ‘powers that be’ lobby against the airline ever launching.
AirAsia Japan needs to overcome resistance in the often exclusive Japanese environment still smarting from AirAsia Japan MK I – a JV between AirAsia and ANA that was dissolved. Local mindset needs to be more pro-competition: there appears room in Japan for another strong LCC. Japan has aggressive tourism targets that AirAsia Japan can help meet. AirAsia Japan’s proposed base is at Nagoya, which does not have a home LCC and is preparing for a LCC terminal. Competitors are making a launch difficult, and Jetstar Japan has established a base at Nagoya.
AirAsia must regain the trust of Japanese aviation
Two years ago, in Jul-2015, the AirAsia group announced plans to re-enter the Japanese market and establish AirAsia Japan Mk II. The first AirAsia Japan was a JV between AirAsia and All Nippon Airways. The JV was dissolved as the two owners disagreed on operations and growth strategy. AirAsia exited, while ANA took full ownership and relaunched the airline as Vanilla Air.
AirAsia’s Jul-2015 announcement expected a Mar/Apr-2016 launch of AirAsia Japan. This was a very quick time frame in a conservative country. The 2016 goal has come and gone, and there are now expectations that a 2017 launch will not be possible.
The delays may appear confusing, since AirAsia Japan received its AOC in Oct-2015. However, final authority has not been granted to AirAsia Japan. The industry broadly attributes this to two main reasons.
Firstly, Japanese authorities are concerned that AirAsia Japan is relying too much on AirAsia in Malaysia for procedures and policies; Japan wants to see a Japanese-specific way of business. Japan remains overly safety-conscious and generally prefers smaller airlines to use the experience of ANA or JAL for safety, maintenance, training, etc.
Secondly, some in Japanese aviation and government are not inclined to support AirAsia. In a country where relationships are important, the feeling among many is that in 2012 Japan trusted AirAsia to launch in Japan and the airline subsequently exited the market. No matter what AirAsia’s reason is, many feel that AirAsia has broken their trust, and should not be given a second chance.
Adding to these debates and emotions is what CAPA understands to be ANA’s lobbying against AirAsia Japan. ANA felt badly after AirAsia left their original JV. Besides ANA not wanting to see more LCC competition, specifically – ANA does not want to see the re-entry of AirAsia.