AirAsia, ANA part ways over management clashes

Good lesson for newbie business AirAAsia, no regrets, Asia is too big and wishing you good luck !

It doesn't surprise me at all that this didn't work in Japan. There's very little true competition here -- the majors will always find a way to nudge out newcomers, even in a joint venture such as this. "We'll help you come into Japan, provided that you give us the lion's share of revenue, don't cut into our most lucrative verticals, and do business "The Japanese Way."

Since coming to Japan, all of my students have been using AA to visit Korea, Okinawa and Hokkaido -- to a degree I've never seen. I think if AA were allowed routes out of Haneda to fly direct to and from major cities in SE Asia, they would do great. Or is there something about Japan (other than landing fees) that makes this not possible?

Again? Really... You do have to think why Japan can not work with others, it has happened over and over again. This isolation in a global world can not end well.

Really Japanese corporate are so stubborn that they would end up business in hugh losses rather than changing the business style.....amazing!! Air Asia is a success every where and I guess ANA felt threat that if they survive here longer then bankrupt JAL & ANA will get more hard time in future. Initial set costs are high and higher for aviation industry and considering no flights from Haneda I think Air Asia did pretty well in first fiscal year! I feel pity for people who loved to travel on Air Asia will have to be ripped off again by two vultures named JAL & ANA!

The Japan aviation market is starting to fill up with LCCs - Skymark, Peach, AirAsia, Jetstar. Solaseed. I know that newer entrants like Peach have already caused Skymark, the "original" LCC, to pull back on some routes. So I wonder how crowded the market is becoming, especially with fares so low, yields often low, and landing fees and labour costs high.

LCC pricing pressure on the established carriers - JAL and ANA - hasn't been as intense as I would have thought. You will often find domestic fares x2-3 higher on ANA/JAL when booking with less than 4 weeks notice.

Another problem was that the carrier focused on online sales—a key strategy for AirAsia—but many Japanese travelers still book flights through travel agents, Shimizu said.

This doesn't surprise me, but I find it dismaying. In much of the rest of the world, the industry has completely moved in this direction of self-purchased tickets. There's no reason to rely on a middle-man when all you're booking is a simple domestic ticket. Consumers are backing themselves into a system where prices are artificially inflated, and not by a small amount. Would you seriously pay Y60,000 for a Haneda - Okinawa return ticket when a competitor is offering more or less the same product for Y20,000?

Last year I used AirAsia to travel round trip to both Hokkaido and Fukuoka for less than the cheapest one way ticket to just Hokkaido would have been on JAL/ANA. Skymark only offers a very limited number of discount tickets per flight and, once they are sold out, the prices are similar to JAL/ANA. I hope I can get in a trip to Okinawa before AirAsia stops service and that they return to Japan in the future.

Who owns haneda airport and why are LCCs being locked out? I guess ANA and JAL have some sort of monopolistic deal with Haneda? Haneda must be super profitable I guess.

Typical Japanese businesses maintaining a stranglehold on their market and impeding consumer-oriented foreign-based companies from gaining a foothold & running a business that fulfills consumer needs. This is why the Asian FTA will fail - because Japan prevents open competition & refuses to allow foreign firms from competing in Japan unless its run by a Japanese partner that dictates how the venture operates.

Japan has no clue about domestic competition. Short sight gain will create huge collapse of the whole economy. And always this embarrassing arrogance from J-corp about the superiority of everything from Japan! Let's meet again in 5 years.

I'm in Australia and the last 2 times I spent my holiday in Japan I used JETSTAR. Last trip I was lucky enough to secure the online special ticket of AUS$550 direct flight from Gold Coast to Osaka (return included). I find no problem landing at Narita Airport. 1 hour train ride is not inconvenient to me. Also I am surprised to learn that many Japanese are still booking flights through travel agents. I have not been to a travel agent for years.

Japanese travel agents typically do more than just provide a ticket; they provide you with pre-filled immigration and customs forms for your destination, check your visa and customs allowances, give you maps and info packs, and importantly take the responsibility for your travel. This suits a nation who are cosseted from cradle to grave, and who dislike taking personal responsibility. The actual airline ticket is only one component of what they are purchasing, a safe, geographic transformation and a cultural experience in another place. A couple of dozen clicks on an internet site does not give them that...

Actually, this seem to me like an Air Asia issue,jetstar has always been good and on time, while Air Asia have always been over hour late... even costing a sleep at narita twice...

Yes, wanderlust agree, butt we are talking about domestic flights! You get very little even with the ANA/JAL - service is very basic and you get just one juice during 1-3 hour flight.

Air Asia, accepting only through credit card booking, will not prosper in Japan. Most of sales in Japan are through travel agency or by online voucher, to be redeemed or to be paid through multi-function terminals in convenience store like LOPPE of LAWSON and FAMILY MART, similar payment in 7-ELEVEN and some payment in SUNKUS and in 3-F, and MINISTOP.

Convenience Store payment is the core of Japanese online and advanced payment for everything including Disney on ICe, concert, airline and shinkansen tickets etc.

There is another one mode of payment very popular in Japan specially for company employees but can be used by family members. This is called FUKURIKOUSEI or Japanese Companies' Welfare Benefit.

Many companies in Japan are members of FUKURIKOUSEI like BENEFIT-ONE which will do the booking and reservations for you and your family at a very cheap price, sometimes up to 70% discount including AIRLINE TICKETS or PACKAGE TOUR which include AIRLINE tickects. JAL/ANA are obviously part or endorsed by BENEFIT-ONE and other FUKURIKOUSEI SYSTEMS in Japan.