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

Mar 23, 2018 | News On Japan

Mar 23, 2018 (Japan Today) - ANA Holdings Inc, Japan's biggest airline by revenue, said on 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, a joint venture between Japan Airlines Co Ltd (JAL) and Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd, as well as a newly relaunched AirAsia Japan.

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.

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