DALLAS — Skymark Airlines (BC), the first low-cost carrier (LCC) in Japan, has turned a profit after nine months. As domestic traffic soars, the Japanese LCC has seen strong demand.

Skymark was the first LCC established in Japan and offers domestic flights at Haneda Airport (HND) in competition with the duopoly of ANA All Nippon Airways (NH) and Japan Airlines (JL).

The airline is also at Kobe Airport (UKB) and is the sole Japanese airline with frequent scheduled services at Ibaraki Airport (IBR).

A Return to Profitability

The recently relisted airline, which had been operating privately for eight years, had a loss of Y3.4bn (US$25.8m) for the nine months ending December 31, 2022, and had posted a loss of Y11.3bn (US$85bn) the previous year.

The 26-year-old carrier, which filed for bankruptcy in 2015, posted operating revenue of Y62.5bn (US$471bn) last year. Its revenue has increased by 75% year on year since 2021, as domestic leisure travel demand has increased due to fewer restrictions.

In the last quarter of 2022, Skymark airlines carried close to 1.96 million passengers, a number similar to the last quarter of 2019 pre-pandemic. Subsequently, the cost also increased by 26% year-on-year as it revamped its operations.

The carrier has placed an order for six Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. Out of these, three are for the Boeing 737-8, and the remaining three are for the 737-10. Two of each are firm orders, while the remaining are optional. Last November, the carrier announced that it plans to expand its fleet size by 12 planes in the coming few years.

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Feature Image: Skymark Airlines JA737X Boeing 737-8AL(WL) | Photo: Kochan Kleps/Airways

https://airwaysmag.com/skymark-737-max-order