Low-cost carrier Zipair Tokyo Inc. said Friday it will launch a flight service next month linking Narita Airport with Los Angeles, becoming the first budget airline to offer long-haul flights between Asia and North America.
The new service, which begins on Dec. 25, marks a milestone for the carrier, a subsidiary of Japan Airlines Co., after it started operations last year in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
Zipair, which operates Boeing 787-8 aircraft on its international routes, said it will initially offer three flights per week to Los Angeles and will consider increasing services of the new route as well as opening flights to other cities on the U.S. West Coast.
One-way tickets for the Narita-Los Angeles route will start from ¥27,500 ($240), according to the carrier.
"Ever since the introduction of Zipair, one of our key goals was to establish a flight across the Pacific," said Zipair President Shingo Nishida. "Our mission is to define a new standard in the air travel industry by offering a unique low-cost business model on long-haul international routes."