Peach CEO Shinichi Inoue wants his airline to become the Muji or Uniqlo of aviation. Accepting the Low Cost Airline of the Year award at the CAPA Asian Aviation Summit on Monday night, Inoue said with those two brands, you don’t think of them as where they come from but as global household names.
This is his vision for the airline which was the first pure low cost carrier to launch operations in Japan in March 2012 but since then is facing intense competition from new players that have entered the market.
In recognising Peach, CAPA said, “In a challenging and increasingly crowded marketplace it has differentiated itself through product and strategic innovations. It has now been profitable for two consecutive years and, most importantly, has proven the LCC model can be successful in the Japanese market.”
While he acknowledges that traditionally Japanese brands have had challenges expanding overseas, he believes things are changing.
Japan is changing, he says. Once, people believed low cost wouldn’t work in a market used to quality service but today, low cost carriers like Peach have proven competitive fares can help create new demand and new markets.
There’s also a new focus on inbound tourism by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and this month, he doubled the target from 20 million by 2020 to 40 million. Inoue is one of seven advisors who have been appointed to the inbound tourism committee.
“We are the only airline,” he said proudly, adding that Peach has been highly successful in attracting inbound passengers, which account for 60% of its total international traffic.
Inoue: The only airline to be among advisors to Prime Minister Abe’s inbound tourism panel
Other outside advisers to the panel include Mayumi Oda, an executive manager of the traditional hotel Kagaya in Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture; Koji Karaike, chairman of Kyushu Railway Co. (JR Kyushu); and David Atkinson, president at Konishi Decorative Arts and Crafts Co.
Foreign visitors to Japan totalled 14.5 million for the January-September period this year, up 48.8% from the same period last year and already exceeding the 13.4 million total for all of 2014.
Inoue said Japan had lots of tourism opportunities to be developed, one of which includes the ryokans and he said Peach would be working on an initiative to make these traditional Japanese inns more accessible to foreign travellers.
Inoue wants Peach to be an airline that nurtures “a love for humanity”.
“I think the impressions and joys that are born from connections between people, the feeling of excitement, and the smiles – these are sure to bring people happiness,” he is quoted on the airline’s website.
He said the airline does this by working on and delivering these three pillars – safety, quality and low price.
In August 2014, Peach announced its 10 millionth passenger since launching operations. The carrier currently operates 16 aircraft on 12 domestic and seven international routes. Peach transported 1.5 million in FY2012, 3.0 million in FY2013, 3.6 million in FY2014 and expects to transport 4.5 million in FY2015.
In its award citation, CAPA added, “Peach now operates about 20 domestic and international routes with a fleet of 16 A320s. The carrier has been able to stimulate rapid growth at Osaka Kansai, its main base, and in August 2015 became the first LCC to operate from Tokyo Haneda.
“Developing its own check in kiosks has been one of several product innovations. Peach’s independence from All Nippon Airways, which owns a 39% stake in the carrier, has been critical as it has enabled the management team to develop a new type of airline for the Japanese market and pursue an innovative strategy.”
