| Airline: | J-Air Co., Ltd. |
| Iata: | JL |
| Founded: | |
| Commenced: | |
| Frequent Flyer: | JAL Mileage Bank |
| Fleet Size: | 32 |
| Destinations: | 17 |
| Parent: | Japan Airlines |
| Headquarters: | Itami Airport, Osaka, Japan |
| Key People: | Tsuyoshi Yamamura (President) |
J-Air is a Japanese regional commuter airline with its headquarters in the Terminal Building in Itami Airport near Toyonaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan[1] and its main hub at Itami Airport. J-Air previously had its headquarters in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture.[2] Its operations include scheduled passenger services to 17 destinations across regional Japan, under Japan Airlines flight numbers. The airline has a fleet of 35 aircraft, consisting of Embraer 170s and 190s linking tier-two and tier-three cities in Japan as to bypass JAL's congested hub in Tokyo (both Narita and Haneda).
J-Air is a wholly owned subsidiary of Japan's flag carrier, Japan Airlines (JAL) and an affiliate member of the Oneworld alliance. The airline was founded on 8 August 1996, when JAL restructured JAL Flight Academy and J-Air was separated; and began operations as a separate entity from Hiroshima-Nishi Airport on 1 November. Faced with limited opportunities for route expansion at Hiroshima, the airline relocated to its new home at Nagoya Airfield, after the opening of Chūbu Centrair International Airport, on 17 February 2005. In the fiscal year ended 31 March 1999, J-Air, together with its sister airlines within the JAL Group, carried over 32 million passengers and over 1.1 million tons of cargo and mail.
JAL Flight Academy (JFA) was established by Japan Airlines (JAL) in April 1991, as a flight training school subsidiary based at Omura Airport, Nagasaki. It provided conversion training for its flight engineers to become pilots. In April 1991, a new division of JFA was created to operate scheduled services to succeed the troubled Nishi Seto Airlink services, a commuter airline serving cities in western Japan. Since the introduction of the 19-seats Jetstream 31s (JS31) in September 1991, the aircraft progressively replaced the Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante inherited from Nishi Seto.[3] [4] [5]
In August 1996, JAL Flight Academy was restructured, J-Air was separated and established as a wholly owned regional subsidiary airline of Japan Airlines on 8 August. On 1 November, the airline inaugurated its first flight from Hiroshima-Nishi Airport and was building up service on smaller-demand domestic routes, which larger aircraft could not serve economically. However, the local government subsidy was terminated at the end of the 2000 fiscal year and the airline was required to become self-sufficient. As part of its domestic marketing strategy, JAL found a niche market where the 100-plus-seats Boeing 737s were too large and frequent services were in demand, and began repositioning the airline. Fifty-seats Bombardier CRJ200s were introduced and progressively replaced the five JS31s until completion in August 2003.[3] [4] [6]
Despite the introduction of the CRJ200s, there were limited opportunities for route expansion from its home at Hiroshima-Nishi Airport. The airline decided to move to Nagoya Airfield, after the opening of Chūbu Centrair International Airport. On 17 February 2005, J-Air realized its dream and relocated to its new home at Nagoya Airfield. In order to strengthen the recognition of the JAL brand and improve customer convenience, the airline disposed its own flight numbers and changed to JAL flight numbers from 1 April 2005.[4] [7]
On 1 April 2007, J-Air, together with four of its sister airlines within the JAL Group, joined Oneworld and became a Oneworld affiliate member.[8] On 18 June, JAL signed a purchase agreement with Embraer for ten Embraer 170 jets, with options to acquire another five aircraft. The contract value was worth approximately US$435 million, if all the options are exercised. The aircraft will be used for linking tier-two and tier-three cities in Japan as to bypass the airline’s congested hub in Tokyo. The aircraft was configured to seat 76 passengers in a single-class layout and was designated for J-Air.[9] [10] The first aircraft was delivered on 3 October 2008, received the type certification from the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) on 27 October and operated its first flight in February 2009.[11] [12] [13]
J-Air has been reported by Japanese newspapers and television to be leaving Nagoya Airfield in a phased transition with many flights leaving October 2010 and all flights leaving by end of March 2011.
| April 1991 | Japan Airlines (JAL) launches the business headquarters of JAL Flight Academy Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Omura City, Nagasaki Prefecture), using two Embraer EMB 110 (Bandeirante) turboprop aircraft manufactured by Embraer, Brazil. commenced operations of | |
| September 1991 | Jetstream Super 31 (JS31), a turboprop aircraft manufactured by British company BAe, goes into service. | |
| August 1996 | J-AIR Co., Ltd. was established with Hiroshima-Nishi Airport as its head office. J-Air operates 8 routes to and from Hiroshima-Nishi. | |
| November 1996 | J-AIR receives transfer of commuter business from JAL Flight Academy and commences operations | |
| January 2001 | J-AIR's first 13 flight attendants join the company | |
| April 2001 | Bombardier CRJ200 goes into service | |
| August 2003 | BAe Jetstream 31 is retired | |
| February 2005 | Headquarters relocated to prefectural Nagoya Airport.Operates 23 flights/day on 13 routes, centered on flights to Nagoya and Osaka (Itami) | |
| April 2005 | Commencement of joint underwriting with Japan Airlines International Co., Ltd. and Japan Airlines Japan Co., Ltd.; | |
| August 2005 | The flight attendants' uniforms will be changed to JAL uniforms, and the scarves will be J-AIR's original Bordeaux color. | |
| August 2006 | J-AIR celebrates its 10th anniversary.Operates 30 flights on 15 routes centering on flights to Nagoya and Osaka (Itami). | |
| February 2007 | Decided to introduce Japan's first regional jet; Embraer 170 manufactured by Embraer, Brazil. | |
| February 2009 | Embraer 170 services 33 flights on 18 routes, mainly Nagoya and Osaka (Itami) flights | |
| November 2009 | Started domestic freight and postal transport through joint underwriting with Japan Airlines International. | |
| March 2011 | Moved headquarters to Osaka International Airport (Itami)Started joint underwriting with Japan Airlines International and JAL Express Co., Ltd. Operated 62 flights on 23 routes, mainly flights to Osaka (Itami) and Sapporo | |
| June 2013 | The design of JAL Group's flight crew, cabin crew, and mechanic uniforms has been renewedJ-AIR cabin crew's scarves have a pink-based color scheme | |
| August 2014 | Decided to introduce additional Embraer 170 and 190s Decidedto introduce MRJ as JAL Group's next-generation regional aircraft (scheduled to be operated by J-AIR) | |
| April 2016 | New Embraer 170 in-flight interior and launch of Wi-Fi free video program service that can be enjoyed on smartphones, etc. | |
| May 2016 | Embraer 190 goes into service between Osaka (Itami) and KagoshimaJ-AIR sets Class J for the first time | |
| June 2016 | Retirement of Bombardier CRJ200 started | |
| August 2016 | 20th anniversary of J-AIR | |
| March 2017 | Started Wi-Fi free video program service on 28 Embraer 190 aircraft. Operates 190 flights on 31 routes. Growing to a scale responsible for 30% of JAL flights (as of March 1, 2017) | |
| February 2018 | Retirement of Bombardier CRJ200 completed |
J-Air operates to the following destinations (as of October 2019):[15]
, J-Air operates the following aircraft:[16]
| Aircraft | In fleet | Orders | Passengers | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | |||||||
| Embraer 170 | 18 | — | — | 76 | 76 | ||
| Embraer 190 | 14 | — | 15 | 80 | 95 | ||
| Total | 32 | ||||||
J-Air formerly also operated the following aircraft types:[17]
| BAe Jetstream 31 | 5 | September 1991 | August 2003 | [18] | ||
| Bombardier CRJ200 | 9 | April 2001 | February 2018 | [19] [20] [21] | ||
| Embraer EMB 110 | Unknown | April 1991 | Unknown |
J-Air had many liveries over the years. In the following order:
A fusion of the J-AIR letters with a red square separating the 'J' and the 'AIR' titles, and a grey band feature on the fuselage.
After Japan Airlines (JAL) and Japan Air System (JAS) merged, the Tokyo office of Landor and JAL worked together again to create a new brand identity. Landor devised a livery referred to as the "Arc of the Sun". The 2000s rebranding began in April 2002 and was completed in April 2004. The brand identity firm designed 300,000 specific items for JAL. The JAL acronym remained, but it was changed to include a curved bar, which replaced the simple red square and gray rectangle used from 1989 (1991 For J-AIR). The curved bar was likened to a samurai sword. The tail now featured a quarter sun outlined in silver. JAL changed its branding again on 1 April 2011, reverting to the original 1959 brand, with slight modifications, as part of their post-bankruptcy rebrand.
The J-Air livery is called the tsurumaru (鶴丸) or "crane circle." It is an image of a Japanese red-crown crane with its wings extended in full flight. The Tsurumaru logo of its parent (Japan Airlines) was created in 1958 by Jerry Huff, the creative director at Botsford, Constantine and Gardner of San Francisco, which had been the advertising agency for Japan Airlines from its earliest days.
Showing what J-Air (in Japanese) calls or called the aircraft. Also, the liveries are in order.[22]