The surprise discount campaign announced by AirAsia Japan Co. on Wednesday has been an instant success and drawn much media coverage.

The budget airline said the 10,000 one-way tickets it started selling online from midnight priced at ¥5 for routes from Narita to Sapporo and from Fukuoka to Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, sold out within 10 hours.

At Wednesday's news conference, the airline also announced much lower minimum prices, ranging from ¥4,580 to ¥6,680 for flights from Narita to New Chitose Airport in Sapporo, Narita to Fukuoka and Narita to Naha. The prices are up to 50 percent cheaper than those offered by major airlines, a spokesman for AirAsia told The Japan Times on Thursday.