StarFlyer
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese airline headquartered on the grounds of Kitakyushu Airport
in Kokuraminami-ku, Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka Prefecture
. It is modeled after JetBlue Airways
as a "low-cost, high-quality" carrier aimed at business and leisure travelers. The airline began operations on March 16, 2006 and is one of very few in Japan to fly Airbus A320
aircraft. In June 2007 a codeshare agreement for the Haneda–Kitakyushu route began with All Nippon Airways
which significantly boosted passenger numbers.
. The company changed its name to StarFlyer in May 2003, and moved to Kitakyushu at the end of 2003.
StarFlyer was supported by local companies to provide a regular service initially from the Kitakyushu Airport
to Tokyo International Airport
(Haneda, HND) 12 times daily, including late evening and early morning flights to allow day returns for business trip
s and sightseeing. Once the Kitakyushu-Tokyo route is well established the airline plans to open routes to Shanghai
, Beijing
, and Seoul
from Kitakyushu.
On August 17, 2005, StarFlyer announced a business agreement with All Nippon Airways
, providing ANA support services for most StarFlyer aircraft and crews.
A booking center opened in Kokura
on January 16, 2006. Seats for the first available flights sold out in five minutes confirming the popularity of the new venture especially among business travellers. Kitakyushu City
is also requiring its employees to use the airline for all business trips to and from Tokyo.
From June 1, 2007 it began codesharing of its ten daily return flights of Kitakyushu-Tokyo with ANA. The NHK Kitakyushu local news reported on July 10, 2007 that seat bookings had increased to about 70% capacity from 59% after the codesharing began. On November 1, 2008 it also started codesharing on the Kansai-Haneda route.
In April 2008 the company announced that it would begin charter flights to Seoul in July. The airline said it would evaluate the flights to consider whether to start regular service between the two cities (in the meantime, its call center handles reservations for Jeju Air on this route). In addition, it has also prepared to start charter service to Hong Kong.
in Kokuraminami-ku, Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka Prefecture
.
Previously the headquarters were in the in Kokura Kita-ku
, Kitakyūshū. In 2010 the airline announced that the headquarters will move to Kitakyushu Airport
.
Established on December 17, 2002.
Starting capital: 1,822 million yen (as of May 2005), planned to increase to 3 billion yen by end 2005.
The current president is . The second president was . The first president was the late Osako Shinobu, 1945–2005, former president of Zenrin
and a driving force behind the New Kitakyushu Airport
and the persuading of Isetan
to come to Kokura in place of the failed Sogo
Department Store.
aircraft with an average age of 3.6 years, each being equipped with 144 passenger seats in an all-economy class
cabin layout:
The first StarFlyer aircraft, City of Kitakyushu, arrived from Toulouse
at the Tokyo International Airport
on December 15, 2005. It was also the first aircraft to land at the New Kitakyushu Airport
on February 8, 2006.
Although the A320 usually accommodates 180 passengers in one-class layout, StarFlyer's aircraft are fitted with only 144 seats for greater passenger legroom and comfort. The seat pitch is the largest of any economy class, at 36 inches. Each passenger has a personal LCD monitor offering in-flight television, as well as powerports for notebook computers. StarFlyer plans to offer in-flight Internet
service in the future. The Star Flyer A320 fleet is leased from GECAS
and AWAS
.
is black and white, designed by Flower Robotics Inc. of Shibuya
, Tokyo
.
Kitakyushu Airport
Kokura Airport , previously called until 2005, was a small airport in Kokura Minami-ku, Kitakyūshū, Japan. There used to be four flights to and from Tokyo International Airport every day. The runway was long, so large jets could not use it...
in Kokuraminami-ku, Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka Prefecture
Fukuoka Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyūshū Island. The capital is the city of Fukuoka.- History :Fukuoka Prefecture includes the former provinces of Chikugo, Chikuzen, and Buzen....
. It is modeled after JetBlue Airways
JetBlue Airways
JetBlue Airways Corporation is an American low-cost airline. The company is headquartered in the Forest Hills neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens. Its main base is John F. Kennedy International Airport, also in Queens....
as a "low-cost, high-quality" carrier aimed at business and leisure travelers. The airline began operations on March 16, 2006 and is one of very few in Japan to fly Airbus A320
Airbus A320 family
The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001...
aircraft. In June 2007 a codeshare agreement for the Haneda–Kitakyushu route began with 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...
which significantly boosted passenger numbers.
History
StarFlyer was founded as on December 17, 2002 with the intention of being based at the new Kobe AirportKobe Airport
is an airport on an artificial island just off the coast of Kobe, south of Sannomiya Station Japan. It primarily handles domestic flights, but can also accommodate international charter flights. In the first year of operation the airport handled 2,697,000 passengers with an average load factor of...
. The company changed its name to StarFlyer in May 2003, and moved to Kitakyushu at the end of 2003.
Kitakyushu Airport
Kokura Airport , previously called until 2005, was a small airport in Kokura Minami-ku, Kitakyūshū, Japan. There used to be four flights to and from Tokyo International Airport every day. The runway was long, so large jets could not use it...
to 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....
(Haneda, HND) 12 times daily, including late evening and early morning flights to allow day returns for business trip
Business trip
A business trip or official trip is a travel/journey caused by business necessities. The place of employment is left temporarily, e.g.* to visit customers, suppliers or a trade fair* to visit another location the company has, e.g...
s and sightseeing. Once the Kitakyushu-Tokyo route is well established the airline plans to open routes to Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, and Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
from Kitakyushu.
On August 17, 2005, StarFlyer announced a business agreement with 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...
, providing ANA support services for most StarFlyer aircraft and crews.
A booking center opened in Kokura
Kokura Kita-ku, Kitakyushu
is a ward of Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka, Japan. It is the north part of what used to be Kokura City before the merger of five cities to create the new city of Kitakyūshū in 1963...
on January 16, 2006. Seats for the first available flights sold out in five minutes confirming the popularity of the new venture especially among business travellers. Kitakyushu City
Kitakyushu, Fukuoka
is a city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Kyūshū, Japan. It is midway between Tokyo and Shanghai.- Demographics :Kitakyūshū has a population of just under one million...
is also requiring its employees to use the airline for all business trips to and from Tokyo.
From June 1, 2007 it began codesharing of its ten daily return flights of Kitakyushu-Tokyo with ANA. The NHK Kitakyushu local news reported on July 10, 2007 that seat bookings had increased to about 70% capacity from 59% after the codesharing began. On November 1, 2008 it also started codesharing on the Kansai-Haneda route.
In April 2008 the company announced that it would begin charter flights to Seoul in July. The airline said it would evaluate the flights to consider whether to start regular service between the two cities (in the meantime, its call center handles reservations for Jeju Air on this route). In addition, it has also prepared to start charter service to Hong Kong.
Headquarters
The airline is headquartered in the StarFlyer Headquarters Building on the grounds of Kitakyūshū AirportKitakyushu Airport
Kokura Airport , previously called until 2005, was a small airport in Kokura Minami-ku, Kitakyūshū, Japan. There used to be four flights to and from Tokyo International Airport every day. The runway was long, so large jets could not use it...
in Kokuraminami-ku, Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka Prefecture
Fukuoka Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyūshū Island. The capital is the city of Fukuoka.- History :Fukuoka Prefecture includes the former provinces of Chikugo, Chikuzen, and Buzen....
.
Previously the headquarters were in the in Kokura Kita-ku
Kokura Kita-ku, Kitakyushu
is a ward of Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka, Japan. It is the north part of what used to be Kokura City before the merger of five cities to create the new city of Kitakyūshū in 1963...
, Kitakyūshū. In 2010 the airline announced that the headquarters will move to Kitakyushu Airport
Kitakyushu Airport
Kokura Airport , previously called until 2005, was a small airport in Kokura Minami-ku, Kitakyūshū, Japan. There used to be four flights to and from Tokyo International Airport every day. The runway was long, so large jets could not use it...
.
Major shareholders
- Toto CorporationTOTO (company)was founded in 1917. It is a company based in Kitakyushu, Japan. It is the world's largest toilet manufacturer.The name "TOTO" is an abbreviation of the two Japanese words forming its full name, . The company invented and patented the Washlet. Plants outside Japan are:*Beijing Toto, China*Taiwan...
- Daiichi Kotsu Sangyo
- Nippon Steel Corp.Nippon Steel, also referred to as , was formed in 1970. Nippon Steel Corporation is the world's 4th largest steel producer by volume.-Early years:Nippon Steel was created by the merger of two giants, Yawata Iron & Steel and Fuji Iron & Steel...
- Yasukawa Electric Corp.
- ZenrinZenrinZenrin Co. Ltd. is a Japanese map publisher. Founded in 1948, the company is known as a maker of residential maps and software used in personal computers and Automotive navigation systems...
- Bank of Yamaguchi
Established on December 17, 2002.
Starting capital: 1,822 million yen (as of May 2005), planned to increase to 3 billion yen by end 2005.
The current president is . The second president was . The first president was the late Osako Shinobu, 1945–2005, former president of Zenrin
Zenrin
Zenrin Co. Ltd. is a Japanese map publisher. Founded in 1948, the company is known as a maker of residential maps and software used in personal computers and Automotive navigation systems...
and a driving force behind the New Kitakyushu Airport
New Kitakyushu Airport
is an airport in Kokuraminami-ku, Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka Japan. It is built on an artificial island in the western Seto Inland Sea, away from the main body of the city. It opened on March 16, 2006 as but was renamed in 2008...
and the persuading of Isetan
Isetan
is a Japanese department store. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Isetan has branches throughout Japan and East Asia, including Bangkok, Jinan, Kaohsiung, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai, Singapore and Tianjin and formerly in Hong Kong, London and Vienna....
to come to Kokura in place of the failed Sogo
Sogo
Sogo Co., Ltd. is a department store chain that operates an extensive network of branches in Japan. It once owned stores in locations as diverse as Beijing in China, Causeway Bay in Hong Kong, Taipei in Taiwan, Jakarta, Medan, Bandung & Surabaya in Indonesia, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Singapore,...
Department Store.
Fleet
As of June 2011, the StarFlyer fleet consists of 6 Airbus A320-200Airbus A320 family
The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001...
aircraft with an average age of 3.6 years, each being equipped with 144 passenger seats in an all-economy class
Economy class
__FORCETOC__Economy class, also called coach class , steerage, or standard class, is the lowest class of seating in air travel, rail travel, and sometimes ferry or maritime travel....
cabin layout:
The first StarFlyer aircraft, City of Kitakyushu, arrived from Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
at the 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....
on December 15, 2005. It was also the first aircraft to land at the New Kitakyushu Airport
New Kitakyushu Airport
is an airport in Kokuraminami-ku, Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka Japan. It is built on an artificial island in the western Seto Inland Sea, away from the main body of the city. It opened on March 16, 2006 as but was renamed in 2008...
on February 8, 2006.
Although the A320 usually accommodates 180 passengers in one-class layout, StarFlyer's aircraft are fitted with only 144 seats for greater passenger legroom and comfort. The seat pitch is the largest of any economy class, at 36 inches. Each passenger has a personal LCD monitor offering in-flight television, as well as powerports for notebook computers. StarFlyer plans to offer in-flight Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
service in the future. The Star Flyer A320 fleet is leased from GECAS
GE Commercial Aviation Services
GECAS is a unit of GE Capital, itself part of the large conglomerate General Electric. The president of GECAS is Norman Liu. GECAS is responsible for the leasing of aircraft and associated equipment to airlines...
and AWAS
AWAS (company)
Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services or simply Ansett Worldwide is one of the world's largest commercial jet aircraft leasing companies...
.
Livery
The company's liveryAircraft livery
Aircraft livery is a paint scheme applied to an aircraft, generally to fuselage, wings, empennage , or jet engines. Most airlines have a standard paint scheme for their aircraft fleet, usually prominently displaying the airline logo or name. From time to time special liveries are introduced, for...
is black and white, designed by Flower Robotics Inc. of Shibuya
Shibuya, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 2008, it has an estimated population of 208,371 and a population density of 13,540 persons per km². The total area is 15.11 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...
.
Routes
- TokyoTokyo 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....
– KitakyūshūKitakyushu AirportKokura Airport , previously called until 2005, was a small airport in Kokura Minami-ku, Kitakyūshū, Japan. There used to be four flights to and from Tokyo International Airport every day. The runway was long, so large jets could not use it... - TokyoTokyo 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....
– OsakaKansai International Airportis an international airport located on an artificial island in the middle of Osaka Bay, southwest of Ōsaka Station, located within three municipalities, including Izumisano , Sennan , and Tajiri , in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. The airport is off the Honshu shore. The airport serves as an... - TokyoTokyo 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....
– FukuokaFukuoka Airport, formerly known as Itazuke Air Base, is an international and domestic airport located east of Hakata Station in Fukuoka, Japan. It is officially designated a second class airport. It is operating at full capacity, and cannot be further expanded. Flights stop at 10 p.m... - KitakyūshūKitakyushu AirportKokura Airport , previously called until 2005, was a small airport in Kokura Minami-ku, Kitakyūshū, Japan. There used to be four flights to and from Tokyo International Airport every day. The runway was long, so large jets could not use it...
– Busan (from 2012)
External links
- StarFlyer web page (Japanese)
- StarFlyer English web page (archive)
- StarFlyer's 26 Seats promotion (archive)