Japan Air studies setting up budget carrier to boost capacity

Japan Airlines is examining setting up a new low-fare carrier to increase capacity and take on rising competition from budget operators. Starting a discount airline is part of the carrier’s need to widen its product line-up, vice chairman Junko Okawa said Monday. It is one of several options the company is exploring, she said, adding no decision has been taken yet. The airline is already a shareholder in low-fare carrier Jetstar Japan. Asia’s budget airline revolution has been slow to sweep Japan, a market that JAL and ANA have dominated for decades. Aided by a tourism boom, low-fare carriers such as AirAsia, Jetstar Japan and Peach Aviation have in recent years tried to wean passengers away from legacy operators in a country where the Shinkansen bullet trains offer stiff competition to planes on internal routes. <br/>