Harlequin Air, a new airline affiliated with Japan Air System, started services Friday with a chartered flight from Fukuoka to Brisbane, Australia.

The Fukuoka-based airline plans to offer 19 flights between Fukuoka and Brisbane and Fukuoka and Sydney until Feb. 16, targeting tourists aiming to avoid the Japanese winter by summering in Australia. The carrier will also offer chartered flights to Hawaii from Feb. 20 until the end of March, and plans to operate from Japan's regional airports to destinations on the Pacific Rim, including Bali, Indonesia, and Katmandu, in fiscal 1998, according to Mie Kashiwade, a spokeswoman for the carrier.

For international flights, Harlequin will use DC-10 jetliners, and for domestic operations, which start next month, the carrier will operate with JAS by chartering its planes and flight attendants.

Domestic services will begin Jan. 8, with daily flights between Fukuoka and Miyazaki and two flights daily between Fukuoka and Okinawa. The airline was founded last January with the aim of cutting costs for its parent company in light of intensifying competition in the domestic market due to the ongoing deregulation.