Society

Japanese airlines eye low-cost services to drive post-pandemic growth

May 10 (Japan Times) - While uncertainty remains over when — or even if — travel demand will make a full recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan’s two major airlines are positioning themselves to take advantage of any upturn with a punt on low-cost services.

With leisure demand expected to recover much faster than business travel, ANA Holdings Inc. and Japan Airlines Co. are both strengthening ties with low-cost carriers (LCCs).

But the moves by the two airlines, which have established themselves as full-service carriers, could be a double-edged sword, aviation experts say.

ANA Holdings, the parent company of All Nippon Airways Co., is planning to launch a new LCC brand in the year to March 2023 with flights connecting Japan with Southeast Asia and Oceania.

Its domestic rival JAL said Friday it will make Spring Airlines Japan Co. a consolidated subsidiary in June. The unit of major Chinese LCC Spring Airlines Co. will take its place in the JAL group alongside wholly-owned budget airline Zipair Tokyo Inc., which started operations last year in the midst of the pandemic.

The two budget carriers reflect JAL’s strategic shift away from what used to be seen as a cautious stance on LCCs.

Do Bears Prefer Acorns or Berries?

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Copper Thieves Target Japanese Shrines

Copper roofing panels were stolen from several shrines in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, including a city-designated cultural property, in the latest case amid a nationwide surge in copper thefts targeting shrines and temples across Japan, where soaring metal prices have fueled crimes that leave historic religious buildings damaged, exposed to the elements, and facing repair costs of millions of yen.

1200-Year-Old Temple on Miyajima Reduced to Ashes

Flames broke out on the morning of May 20th on Miyajima Island in Hiroshima Prefecture, home to one of Japan's World Heritage sites, destroying Reikado Hall near the summit of Mount Misen.

From Bento Boxes to Garbage Bags, Rising Costs Hitting Daily Life Across Japan

Uncertainty surrounding the situation in the Middle East is beginning to affect daily life in Japan, as concerns over crude oil supplies spread to restaurants, cleaning services and even household garbage disposal systems across the Kansai region.

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A 25-year-old woman arrested as a suspected ringleader in a robbery-murder case in Tochigi Prefecture once posted cheerful dance videos on social media and was remembered by those who knew her as an energetic and outgoing young woman.

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