ZipAir Japanese Low Cost Carrier with Flat Bed Biz Seats

[PeterRS]

I subscribe to just one youtube travel channel because I have found quite a few are generally a waste of time! No doubt others will disagree. Solo Solo Travel is run by a young Japanese guy - I am assuming he is late 20s/early 30s. How he pays for his travel I do not know because he rarely has any sponsors. Yet he travels a lot in first and business class around the world. One vdo even has him travelling on Etihad's hugely expensive Residence Suite. He also has some fascinating vdos of bus and train trips in Japan and low cost hotels, including one to a fabulous Japanese winter spa town which I hope to visit. Thankfully there is no intrusive music or aural commentary. His comments are all in English at the foot of the vdos - and some are often quite funny. He has become extremely popular with over 1.4 million subscribers.

Today I noticed this vdo posted only a few hours ago. I was surprised that ZipAir started in 2018 and is wholly owned by JAL. It is a no frills low cost carrier, but it does have a business class with flat bed seats in a 1-2-1 layout and free wifi throughout the aircraft. And that's about all. No drinks, no TV monitors, no overnight kits - just the bed and a low price. As usual, you pay extra for luggage, pre-ordered meal service, even a rather nice overnight kit.

The flight in the video is from LAX to Tokyo's Narita airport. The one way business class price was US$1,050. The add ons for hold baggage, meal and overnight kit seem to come to around $75. The Kayak website has the cheapest one way ticket on regular carriers at over $3,000. ZipAir now has services to other North American cities. 

For Bangkok residents interested in visiting Japan,  ZipAir seems to be linked to Air Asia as one sector is usually on that airline with the cheapest eonomy daytime flight cost of Bt. 13,785, but that does mean paying for hold baggage on the Air Asia outward sector. Not on the ZipAir return. For both  flights in business class, Zipair has flights but the outward sector has to be overnight. The basic price is US$1,100 which is at least $500 cheaper than full fare scheduled carriers. Great if all you want to do is sleep on a flat bed!

[Travelingguy]

When you add in a suitcase and carryon/backpack, it isn’t all that much less than other carriers.  It used to be very cheap, but their prices have climbed.  Also, if you fly US to BKK, the two trips (which have to be bought separately ) are roughly the same as the best deals on JAL or their Taiwanese competitors.

I love the concept, because what I really want is the lay flat bed, but not if the nickel and diming comes out the same in the end

[joizy]

I’ve flown Zip Air and it is very basic, but if you want a lie flat seat, I’ve found it’s about half the price of business class so it’s worth it. There are extra charges for everything. I pay for checked and extra carry on luggage, but not to choose my seat (only necessary if you are traveling with someone and you want to sit near them). I skip the amenity package and bring my own blow up pillow and blanket. Also, skip the food. It’s not good. What I like about it, opposed to business class, is I don’t feel like I need to stay awake for the food and drink (because I feel like I’m paying for that), so I go right to sleep. I pack snacks and order water on the flight (you can also order from a limited menu in flight). They have free WiFi but it’s spotty (for me). I also pay for the express service, which means my bags are priority tagged, so they come off first, and you get express check-in - though at Narita they asked to see my receipt first (!) until finally someone looked me up and found that I had indeed paid for the service (they are much stricter and a little weird in Japan). I flew them twice this year to Narita and it’s so much better than sitting upright for 9-11 hours.

If I could find a business class seat on another Japanese airline for anywhere near the price I get on Zip Air, I’d definitely go with them, but this works and makes the trip bearable. I also like their departure and arrival times from SFO.

[joizy]

8 hours ago, Travelingguy said:

When you add in a suitcase and carryon/backpack, it isn’t all that much less than other carriers.  It used to be very cheap, but their prices have climbed.  Also, if you fly US to BKK, the two trips (which have to be bought separately ) are roughly the same as the best deals on JAL or their Taiwanese competitors.

I love the concept, because what I really want is the lay flat bed, but not if the nickel and diming comes out the same in the end

Baggage fees are not that much. I have found it’s about half the price of a business class seat. Not sure if you’re talking about lie flat or economy though.