ANA to merge Peach, Vanilla units to create Japan's largest budget carrier

ANA Holdings said Thursday it would merge its units Peach Aviation and Vanilla Air by March 2020, to sharpen the competitive edge of its budget carrier business and tap growing travel demand in Asia. The integrated low-cost carrier business, which will be known as Peach and become Japan’s largest budget carrier, plans to enter the medium-length international market by the fiscal year starting in April 2020. ANA is a major player in the growing budget aviation market in Japan with Tokyo-based Vanilla and Osaka-based Peach competing against Jetstar Japan, as well as a newly re-launched AirAsia Japan. “Competition is becoming increasingly fierce with the entry of overseas airlines and we thought now was the time to combine our strengths,” Vanilla President Katsuya Goto said. Low-cost carriers from other parts of the region, such as Hong Kong Express and Singapore’s Scoot, have been adding flights to Japan as the nation becomes an increasingly popular tourist destination for Asian travelers.<br/>