Hokkaido International Airlines
Encyclopedia
, also known as is a Japan
ese low-cost airline operating scheduled service between Tokyo
and cities in Hokkaidō
. It is headquartered in the in Chūō-ku
, Sapporo
, and its main base of operations is Tokyo International Airport
in Ōta
, Tokyo
. It has 826 employees as of April 1, 2011.
policy that would allow carriers to freely set fares on domestic routes. Hamada gathered investments from 29 other individuals who were interested in establishing a low-cost airline to compete with Japan's major domestic carriers (All Nippon Airways
, Japan Airlines
, and Japan Air System
) on flights between Hokkaido cities and Tokyo. Additional capital was raised from Kyocera
, Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance, Hokkaido Electric Power Company
and other institutional investors, as well as from Hokkaido local governments seeking less expensive air service to Tokyo.
The company started flight operations on the Tokyo-Sapporo route, using the Air Do brand, in December 1998. Its first CEO was the former Japan manager of Virgin Atlantic Airways
. Maintenance and ground handling services were outsourced to Japan Airlines
. Air Do enjoyed very high load factor
s during its first few months of operation, as its fares were 60% to 70% of the walk-up fares offered by established airlines.
However, other airlines quickly adopted their own discounted advance purchase fares in the wake of Air Do's initial success, driving load factors down to around 50%. The Hokkaido prefectural government injected more capital in 2000 and installed one of its senior officials as head of the company. After being harder hit financially in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks
, and being denied additional financing from the Hokkaido prefectural government, Air Do entered Japanese corporate restructuring procedures in June 2002.
Air Do received new equity capital from a tokumei kumiai
investment fund arranged by the Development Bank of Japan
, in which All Nippon Airways
was a key investor. This began a number of business relationships between Air Do and ANA, including ANA code sharing
on Air Do operated flights and Air Do leasing additional 767 and 737 aircraft from ANA. The fund was dissolved in September 2008 and DBJ, ANA and other investors became direct shareholders in Air Do.
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Air Do operates services to the following domestic scheduled destinations from Tokyo
and Sapporo.
Air Do started a new service between Obihiro and Haneda in March 2011.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese low-cost airline operating scheduled service between Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
and cities in Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
. It is headquartered in the in Chūō-ku
Chūō-ku, Sapporo
is one of the ten wards in Sapporo city, Japan. Chūō-ku means "central ward" in Japanese. As its name suggests, city administration and entertainment facilities are centred in this ward.- History :...
, Sapporo
Sapporo, Hokkaido
is the fourth-largest city in Japan by population, and the largest city on the island of Hokkaido. It is the capital of Hokkaidō Prefecture, located in Ishikari Subprefecture, and an ordinance-designated city of Japan....
, and its main base of operations is Tokyo International Airport
Tokyo International Airport
, commonly known as , is one of the two primary airports that serve the Greater Tokyo Area in Japan. It is located in Ōta, Tokyo, south of Tokyo Station....
in Ōta
Ota, Tokyo
is one of the 23 Special wards of Tokyo, Japan.As of May 1, 2011, the ward has an estimated population of 676,458, with 348,492 households, and a population density of 11,376.69 persons per km²...
, Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. It has 826 employees as of April 1, 2011.
History
Hokkaido International Airlines was founded in 1996 by , a poultry farmer in Hokkaidō, shortly after the Japanese government approved a domestic airline deregulationAirline deregulation
Airline deregulation is the process of removing entry and price restrictions on airlines affecting, in particular, the carriers permitted to serve specific routes. In the United States, the term usually applies to the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978...
policy that would allow carriers to freely set fares on domestic routes. Hamada gathered investments from 29 other individuals who were interested in establishing a low-cost airline to compete with Japan's major domestic carriers (All Nippon Airways
All Nippon Airways
, also known as or ANA, is one of the largest airlines in Japan. It is headquartered at the Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It operates services to 49 destinations in Japan and 35 international routes and employed over 14,000 employees as of May 2009...
, Japan Airlines
Japan Airlines
is an airline headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan. It is the flag carrier of Japan and its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Tokyo International Airport , as well as Nagoya's Chūbu Centrair International Airport and Osaka's Kansai International Airport...
, and Japan Air System
Japan Air System
was the smallest of the big three Japanese airlines, headquartered in the JAS M1 Building at Tokyo International Airport in Ōta, Tokyo. In contrast to JAL and ANA, its international route network was very small, but its domestic network incorporated many smaller airports that were not served by...
) on flights between Hokkaido cities and Tokyo. Additional capital was raised from Kyocera
Kyocera
is a multinational manufacturer based in Kyoto, Japan. It was founded as in 1959 by Kazuo Inamori and renamed in 1982. The company has diversified its founding technology in ceramic materials through internal development as well as strategic mergers and acquisitions...
, Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance, Hokkaido Electric Power Company
Hokkaido Electric Power Company
The , or for short, is the monopoly electric company of Hokkaidō, Japan. It is also known as Hokuden, Dōden, and HEPCO. The company is traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange , Osaka Securities Exchange , and Sapporo Securities Exchange....
and other institutional investors, as well as from Hokkaido local governments seeking less expensive air service to Tokyo.
The company started flight operations on the Tokyo-Sapporo route, using the Air Do brand, in December 1998. Its first CEO was the former Japan manager of Virgin Atlantic Airways
Virgin Atlantic Airways
Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited is a British airline owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Singapore Airlines...
. Maintenance and ground handling services were outsourced to Japan Airlines
Japan Airlines
is an airline headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan. It is the flag carrier of Japan and its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Tokyo International Airport , as well as Nagoya's Chūbu Centrair International Airport and Osaka's Kansai International Airport...
. Air Do enjoyed very high load factor
Load factor
Load factor may refer to:* Load factor , the ratio of the lift of an aircraft to its weight* Load factor , the ratio of the number of records to the number of addresses within a data structure...
s during its first few months of operation, as its fares were 60% to 70% of the walk-up fares offered by established airlines.
However, other airlines quickly adopted their own discounted advance purchase fares in the wake of Air Do's initial success, driving load factors down to around 50%. The Hokkaido prefectural government injected more capital in 2000 and installed one of its senior officials as head of the company. After being harder hit financially in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
, and being denied additional financing from the Hokkaido prefectural government, Air Do entered Japanese corporate restructuring procedures in June 2002.
Air Do received new equity capital from a tokumei kumiai
Tokumei kumiai
, literally "anonymous partnerships," are a Japanese bilateral contract governed by the Commercial Code of Japan, Article 535 et seq. In English, they are often called TK or silent partnerships...
investment fund arranged by the Development Bank of Japan
Development Bank of Japan
is a Japanese corporation incorporated on 1 October 2008 under the Development Bank of Japan Inc. Law . Current ownership structure of DBJ is solely owned by the Government of Japan through Minister of Finance.- Overview :...
, in which All Nippon Airways
All Nippon Airways
, also known as or ANA, is one of the largest airlines in Japan. It is headquartered at the Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It operates services to 49 destinations in Japan and 35 international routes and employed over 14,000 employees as of May 2009...
was a key investor. This began a number of business relationships between Air Do and ANA, including ANA code sharing
Code sharing
A codeshare agreement, sometimes simply codeshare, is an aviation business arrangement where two or more airlines share the same flight. A seat can be purchased on one airline but is actually operated by a cooperating airline under a different flight number or code...
on Air Do operated flights and Air Do leasing additional 767 and 737 aircraft from ANA. The fund was dissolved in September 2008 and DBJ, ANA and other investors became direct shareholders in Air Do.
Destinations
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
and Sapporo.
- Tokyo (Haneda)Tokyo International Airport, commonly known as , is one of the two primary airports that serve the Greater Tokyo Area in Japan. It is located in Ōta, Tokyo, south of Tokyo Station....
to:- Asahikawa AirportAsahikawa Airport, is a single-runway regional airport in Hokkaidō, Japan, straddling the cities of Asahikawa and Higashikagura. It is a second class airport.- Airlines and destinations :-Access:...
(AsahikawaAsahikawa, Hokkaidois a city in Kamikawa Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital of the subprefecture and the second-largest city in Hokkaido, after Sapporo. It has been a Core city since April 1, 2000...
) - New Chitose AirportNew Chitose Airport, is an airport located south southeast of Chitose and Tomakomai, Hokkaidō, Japan, serving the Sapporo metropolitan area. By land area, it is the largest airport in Hokkaidō....
(Sapporo) - Hakodate AirportHakodate Airport, is an airport located east of Hakodate Station in Hakodate, a city in Hokkaidō, Japan. It is operated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. It serves as the hub for airtransse.- History :...
(HakodateHakodate, Hokkaidois a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture.Hakodate was Japan's first city whose port was opened to foreign trade in 1854 as a result of Convention of Kanagawa, and used to be the most important port in northern Japan...
) - Memanbetsu AirportMemanbetsu Airportis an airport in the Memanbetsu section of Ōzora, a town in Hokkaidō, Japan. The current airfield was opened in April 1985, replacing the original Memanbetsu Airport nearer to the city centre...
(ŌzoraOzora, Hokkaidois a town in Abashiri District, Okhotsk Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan.Ōzora was formed on March 31, 2006 as a result of the merger of the town of Memanbetsu, and the village of Higashimokoto, both from Abashiri District....
) - Tokachi-Obihiro AirportTokachi-Obihiro Airportis an airport located south of Obihiro Station in Obihiro, Hokkaidō, Japan.-Airlines and destinations:-History:The airport opened in March 1981, initially with a runway, taking over the role of the former Obihiro Airport, now Tokachi Airfield. The runway was extended to 2,500 m in November...
- Asahikawa Airport
- Sapporo (Chitose)New Chitose Airport, is an airport located south southeast of Chitose and Tomakomai, Hokkaidō, Japan, serving the Sapporo metropolitan area. By land area, it is the largest airport in Hokkaidō....
to:- Sendai AirportSendai Airportis an airport located in Natori, Miyagi, south southeast of Sendai Station, Sendai, Japan.-History:In 1940, the Imperial Japanese Army built Sendai Airport in order to use it for the Kumakaya Army Flight School, Masda Branch School Trainee Training Center. It was called by several names: Natory...
(route suspended until July 24, 2011 due to 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunamiThe 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...
) - Niigata AirportNiigata Airportis a second class airport located northeast of Niigata Station in Niigata, Japan.-Airlines and destinations:The following destinations are served from Niigata :-External links:*...
- Toyama AirportToyama Airportis an airport located south southwest of Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture, Japan, about 20 minutes by car from the city center.- Airlines and destinations :- External links :*...
- Komatsu AirportKomatsu Airportis an airport located west southwest of Komatsu Station in the city of Komatsu, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. It serves the southern Ishikawa Prefecture including the capital Kanazawa , and the northern Fukui Prefecture including the capital Fukui.- Overview :Japan Air Self-Defense Force Komatsu...
- Fukushima AirportFukushima Airport, is an airport serving Sukagawa, a city in the Fukushima Prefecture of Japan. The airport is located southeast of Kōriyama Station in Kōriyama.A popular TV drama, Crying Out Love, In the Center of the World, was filmed there.-Airlines and destinations:...
- Tokachi-Obihiro AirportTokachi-Obihiro Airportis an airport located south of Obihiro Station in Obihiro, Hokkaidō, Japan.-Airlines and destinations:-History:The airport opened in March 1981, initially with a runway, taking over the role of the former Obihiro Airport, now Tokachi Airfield. The runway was extended to 2,500 m in November...
- Sendai Airport
Air Do started a new service between Obihiro and Haneda in March 2011.
Fleet
The Air Do fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of May 2011):| Aircraft | In Fleet | Orders | Passengers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 737-500 | 7 | 0 | 126 |
| Boeing 767-300 | 1 | 0 | 270 |
| Boeing 767-300ER | 2 | 0 | 286/289 |