Seeing strong demand from Chinese travelers to Japan, AirAsia announces: Taipei–Tokyo route to launch in 2016

▲ AirAsia plans to launch the Taipei–Tokyo route in 2016. (Photo / Reporter Chen Ruizhong)

Reported by Chen Ruizhong / Taipei

AirAsia launched the Taipei–Kaohsiung route on January 19 this year and its inaugural flight on the Kaohsiung–Kuala Lumpur route on July 16. Together with the existing Taipei–Kuala Lumpur and Taipei–Kota Kinabalu routes, the airline now operates a total of four routes in Taiwan. AirAsia also revealed plans to launch a Taipei–Tokyo route in early 2016.

Zhang Yingjun, commercial marketing representative at AirAsia, said in an interview with Travel News that in addition to planning to establish Japan AirAsia in the second half of 2015, the Taipei–Tokyo route could be launched as early as the beginning of 2016. Fu Meilian, Taiwan liaison for AirAsia, also revealed that Japan is a popular travel destination for Taiwanese, and there are indeed plans to open a Taiwan–Japan route, but the specific routes and launch dates will depend on fleet scheduling and company plans.

In addition to AirAsia, other local low-cost carriers including Tigerair Taiwan and V Air are also expected to launch the Taipei–Tokyo (Haneda) route before January 2016, offering travelers who prefer budget airlines more options for visiting Japan.