Skymark Airlines launched its international passenger service early Saturday with a chartered flight from Tokyo's Haneda Airport to Seoul, making it the first Japanese discount carrier to fly overseas.
All 250 seats on the flight were occupied by passengers who had bought tickets through Skymark's parent company, the travel agency HIS Co.
Skymark entered the domestic airline market in 1998 as the first newcomer in 35 years. The company has three aircraft making a total of nine round-trip flights daily on the Haneda-Fukuoka and Haneda-Kagoshima routes.
The new flights use Skymark's slots at Haneda, Tokyo's main domestic airport, which allows international chartered flights that are scheduled in the early morning or late evening.
"We will consider expanding chartered flights to Guam and Saipan, and also launching regular international flights, in the future," a Skymark official said.
