A New Airline For Japan

New airlines provide another clue that the aviation industry continues to grow.  And very importantly for those of you who wish to be part of it by becoming professional pilots, it opens up more opportunities for careers and career advancement.

The latest new airline, just announced this week, by All Nippon Airways (A.N.A.) of Japan, will be structured as a budget airline; it will operate separately from A.N.A., though A.N.A. will hold a 39% stake in its ownership.  First Eastern, a direct investment firm in China will have another one-third of the ownership, and various Japanese investors will own the rest.

A.N.A. now carries approximately 50 million passengers each year. The airline expects that this new domestic budget carrier (the name has not yet been announced) will further stimulate demand for lower-priced air service and with effectively compete with long-distance buses and trains by offering comparable fares.

The new airline isexpected to begin operations the second half of 2011 and fly out of Kansai International Airport in Osaka. The plan is to start with five narrow-body aircraft, and by the fifth year of operation to have as many as 15-20 aircraft.

There has been significant expansion of low cost carriers in recent years in the Asia-Pacific market, with airlines such as AirAsia (Malaysia) and Jetstar (Australia). Just last month Thai Airways and Tiger Airways (a budget carrier partly owned by Singapore Airlines) announced plans to form a new budget airline.   to find out more about what's new in the airline industry, be sure to check "What's New" on www.pea.com.