Airport News Japan

FDA Goes into Service - Regular Flights on 3 Domestic Routes from Shizuoka Hub

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FDA's ticket desks at Mt. Fuji Shizuoka Airport.

New carrier Fuji Dream Airlines (FDA, based in Makinohara, Shizuoka Prefecture) began service on three domestic routes from its hub at Mt. Fuji Shizuoka Airport on July 23.

The airline is using two ERJ-170 small regional jets (each seats 76) made by Brazilian manufacturer Embraer to fly two daily roundtrip flights from its hub to Komatsu, Ishikawa Prefecture, and one daily roundtrip flight each to Kumamoto and Kagoshima. According to FDA, seats on the first day were “almost booked up,” and the reservation rate thereafter is exceeding the target of 65% at “a favorable pace.”

FDA put itself in the news prior to the start of service with unique efforts such as painting each aircraft in different colors (the first one in red and the second one in light blue) but with the same design, and by entering a partnership to publish the lifestyle magazine Jiyujin for passengers to read in-flight. The company aims to stimulate new aviation demand and establish a new business model by opening routes to connect outlying airports with regional jets (which have good operating efficiency) and by using a new marketing strategy.

With the start of FDA’s service, Mt. Fuji Shizuoka Airport, which opened in June, has a total of eight routes―six domestic and two international―with regular commercial flights.

Fuji Dream Airlines FDA (Japanese)Mt. Fuji Shizuoka Airport