Japan Airlines will kick off its planned new budget brand in Southeast Asia.
JAL will initially focus on routes linking destinations in the ASEAN bloc with Japan, according to JAL director Masaru Onishi.
In an interview Onishi said the airline can lower costs by 50% compared to its mainline full-service operations but has not disclosed what service cutbacks this will involve or what destinations are being considered.
The new budget airline will progressively add two Boeing 787s each year to its fleet and is mulling ordering new planes for the as yet unnamed budget brand.
The JAL budget arm will likely come up against market leader AirAsia which has operations in nearly all ASEAN countries and fast growing regional budget carriers like VietJet and Cebu Pacific.
JAL recently said its stake in budget carrier Jetstar Japan will not be affected by starting a new standalone low cost brand.
