What You Need to Know Before Flying ZIPAIR, Japan's Low Cost Airline

You'll often find my family flying the friendly skies over the lower 48 states, but we've been doing a lot more international trips the last few years. That means the chance to try a lot of different airlines, including quite a few that may be unknown to most American travelers.

Our spring break adventures took us to Tokyo, Japan this year. As you might imagine, prices to fly from the U.S. to Japan this time of year are often quite expensive. Late March and early April is peak cherry blossom season, plus a lot of American travelers prefer to visit Japan in the spring when the weather is pleasant.

We had heard of low-cost airline ZIPAIR, which began service from one of our home airports, San Francisco International (SFO) in 2023. After doing some price comparison, we found we could fly to Tokyo's Narita Airport (NRT) on ZIPAIR for roughly half the price of full-service airlines. The other airlines that fly SFO to NRT non-stop are Star Alliance members United Airlines and ANA as well as Japan Airlines, a oneworld member.

After doing some due diligence, we took the plunge and decided to book with ZIPAIR.

Ultimately, we felt like it was an excellent value and an airline we would absolutely fly again. But ZIPAIR does things quite differently, so doing your due diligence before booking and flying the airline is essential. This article is intended to be your cheat sheet for just that purpose.

ZIPAIR Basics

If you've never heard of ZIPAIR, let's first get up to speed on the basics.

Destinations

ZIPAIR is an ultra low cost airline that only began flying in 2020. The airline is a subsidiary of Japan Airlines (JAL) and currently operates flights to and from Tokyo's Narita Airport (NRT) to 10 additional destinations.

Cities/airports currently served by ZIPAIR from NRT are:

• San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
• San Jose Mineta International Airport (SJC)
• Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
• Honolulu's Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL)
• Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH): Service starts March 4, 2025
• Vancouver International Airport (YVR)
• Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL)
• Seoul's Incheon International Airport (ICN)
• Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK)
• Singapore Changi Airport (SIN)

In-Flight Experience: Aircraft, Seating & Amenities

ZIPAIR flies exclusively brand new Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners. These aircraft have two sections of the cabin with two levels of service.

At the front of the plane are "Zip Full-Flat" seats which are similar in size and shape to the lie flat seats you might find in international business class on numerous airlines. There are just 18 seats in this section of the cabin, in a 1-2-1 configuration.

The rest of the plane is an economy cabin with "Standard" class seats in a 3-3-3 layout. Each standard seat has a typical 31 inches of pitch and the seats are a modern slimline design. There are a few exit rows and bulkhead seats in this section of with some additional legroom.

Regardless of what class of service you book, essentially everything costs extra on ZIPAIR. All passengers are permitted to bring a small carry-on bag or personal item weighing no more than 7 kg (essentially 15 pounds or backpack-sized) for free. However, if you want a larger roll-aboard carry-on bag, a seat assignment, a meal, a snack, a drink, a checked bag, an amenity kit, or anything else, you have to pay extra.

The good news is that ZIPAIR offers several bundles at the time you are booking a flight that include several of the most common extras. It also offers a la carte pricing for each amenity separately. We were pleased to discover that none of the prices for these extras are unreasonable!

The least expensive bundle ("Value"), for example, makes the flight pretty comparable to what you'd get in economy class on a full service airline flying internationally. It includes an in-flight meal, a seat assignment, and a checked bag up to 66 pounds. When we booked, this bundle was an additional $85 per person each way.

10 Important Tips and Things to Know About Booking & Flying ZIPAIR to Japan

If you are considering flying ZIPAIR as well, particularly with kids, there are some unique quirks and rules that you are likely to bump up against. Here are all of the essentials you need to know to help you decide if the airline is right for your traveling family and how to make the most of the experience if you do choose to fly it.

1. Book as soon as the flight schedule is released.

If you are considering a trip on ZIPAIR, it's important to commit and commit quickly. Unlike larger full service airlines, ZIPAIR has a very small fleet. It flies often just a couple of times a week between a given destination and Tokyo.

That means the aircraft can sell out - often many months in advance, especially if you are traveling during a peak period. If that happens, ZIPAIR won't be an option at all.

The good news is that if you are American or Canadian, chances are good you will plan a vacation to a place as distant as Japan well in advance. So keep an eye on the ZIPAIR website so you can book flights as soon as the schedule is released if possible.

Like my family's favorite domestic airline Southwest, ZIPAIR releases its schedule in chunks several times a year. Expect that flights will be on sale as little as 4 months in advance but as much as 12 months in advance - quite a large spread. For example, ZIPAIR released flight schedules through the end of March 2025 in July and August 2024. On October 29 and 31, 2024, ZIPAIR began releasing many April to October 2025 flights for booking. (Last year when my family was booking our own trip, we found that the April flight schedule wasn't available, however, until early December).

2. Do your research & price investigation before you book (and book on ZIPAIR.net).

Ideally before a new schedule is released, it's important to do the legwork to understand how ZIPAIR differs from other airlines and how the rules and costs may apply to your traveling family. This is the only way you can do a true price comparison to the competitors and know what your all-in cost is going to be.

You're reading this, so that's a great start! But I'd also highly recommend reading ZIPAIR's FAQs section which has all the nitty gritty fine print that may apply to more niche situations.

I'd also recommend investigating prices for the extras - like checked bags, meals, or seat assignments - you may need to add to a base fare. There's unfortunately no price list on ZIPAIR's site, and the costs seem to vary route to route. But if you start the process of making a sample booking for the route you are investigating, you can scope out the likely cost of the bundles and a la carte extras.

Being familiar with the website and choices available will pay off on booking day as well. It's essential that passengers take a lot of care during this process, as there are a lot of choices to be made in that process that can't be changed later. I'm ultimately glad I read the fine print and thought through our family's trip logistics before we ultimately had to book, as that preparation made the booking process much more seamless and less intimidating.

One additional word of warning: ZIPAIR flights are available on some third party travel sites. Do not book there. Those often lack the features to select the extras you may want and those sites don't clearly explain the process. The ZIPAIR site is the only place where I've seen everything spelled out and offered step-by-step. Yes, ZIPAIR's website is basic and the English translations aren't perfect, but it's the most trustworthy option by far.

3. There's zero flexibility. Really.

The biggest risk involved with booking a flight on ZIPAIR is that the bookings are truly and completely non-refundable. So you have to be positive you are going to take the trip, or at least be okay with losing the value you have paid if something goes awry like an illness or injury canceling your trip (or make sure any travel insurance you may carry will cover it). Once you book, there's no switching to another flight on a different day, even paying a change fee. You are trading flexibility for cheap fares, and the airline means it - as ultra-low cost carriers usually do.

Since my family flew, ZIPAIR has added a Flex Biz fare add-on that does permit some changes (details here). But even it comes with pretty hefty restrictions. Refunds aren't permitted, but travelers can change their flight 30 or more days in advance for a fare credit voucher (minus a 3% fee) good on a future flight. If a passenger wants to make changes 7-29 days in advance, they are only credited 80% of the fare on a voucher. And no changes are permitted less than 7 days in advance (only taxes would be refunded). So it's ultimately not really that flexible.

4. Fly off-peak for the biggest bargains.

No matter when you travel, you're likely to save money flying ZIPAIR over full-service airlines, even with having to purchase a few extras like a seat assignment or checked bag. Our family certainly did even going to Japan at peak spring cherry blossom season.

But the savings are the most substantial if you have the flexibility to go at an off-peak time. Look, for example, at the one-way pricing calendar for December 2024 for flights from San Francisco to Tokyo. If you need to fly just before the holidays, one way fares are often over $1000 each way (if they are even still available - some days are already sold out). If you can travel at an off-peak time, adult fares are as low as $357.

Prices have gone up a bit on ZIPAIR since the airline launched (and even since we flew earlier this year), but the potential deals are still pretty significant.

5. ZIPAIR has special rules and fares that apply to young kids.

Before booking and flying, families should pay particular attention to ZIPAIR's policies that may be applicable to younger kids. Most notably, ZIPAIR doesn't permit passengers under the age of 7 to sit in the Zip Full-Flat cabin. So if you were hoping to buy a reasonably-priced lie-flat seat for your kids to sleep or to have some extra space, that's unfortunately not possible.

But there's a silver lining. Kids ages 6 and under will save you real money back in economy. The airline offers even deeper discounted fares (U6) to the youngest of travelers, which is a nice bonus for family travelers.

These fares are usually less than half (sometimes less than ⅓) of full adult fares which are already super cheap! ZIPAIR also gives free seat assignments to one adult seated next to a young child so that families don't have to worry about being separated if they don't pay lots of extra fees.

Note that ZIPAIR does require that each passenger have his or her own ticket, so there is no lap baby option for kids under age 2. The U6 fare is enough of a deal that most family travelers would want it anyway for the extra space on such a long flight with a baby. The airline even provides free car seats on the plane for kids ages 0-1!

6. You may not be able to book lie-flat seats - set expectations accordingly.

If you have the budget for it and everyone in your traveling party is over the cutoff age, I'd strongly recommend the Full-Flat cabin. There are few other places where you will be able to get a complete lie-flat seat so inexpensively - often for under $1500 each way from the U.S. to Japan. Being able to get meaningful sleep on such a long flight can help you hit the ground running on your vacation and not lose time to jet lag, and also help you return to school and work more quickly when you get home.

But be aware - this cabin is extraordinary popular. There are only 18 seats on each plane. Demand far exceeds supply at the reasonable prices ZIPAIR charges. In many instances, seats in this cabin will sell out just hours after ZIPAIR releases its schedule. So if you want to snag lie-flat seats, you really need to be on top of ZIPAIR's schedule release. And expect that even then, it may be close to impossible to snag these seats if you are flying at a peak time and booking for multiple people.

Our family was hoping to book the Full-Flat cabin for our return trip from Japan, but we missed ZIPAIR's schedule release by about 24-48 hours. By the time we booked, there was a single seat left in the cabin for purchase. Kudos to my husband who allowed me to take it while he flew home with the the kids in coach (hey, someone had to review it for the blog, but the mom guilt is still real!).

7. Have a plan for food & drink.

ZIPAIR operates like all other low cost carriers, charging fees for all food and drink (even water!) aboard its flights. That means it's very important to think ahead and plan for meals and beverages.

We found that the options on ZIPAIR were very reasonably priced, so even passengers on a tight budget may want to consider paying for a few of them for the convenience factor. Most meal options are about $11-12 a la carte. And water bottles are about $2 each so you won't have to make the tough choice between financial ruin or dehydration if you don't bring your own (but I recommend bringing your own!).

Note that the only way to order food and drink on the plane is through a smartphone or tablet. Passengers must scan the QR code on the seat back and pay with a credit card. Flight attendants bring items promptly. The menu has an eclectic and fun mix of food options, including cups of ramen, flavored Kit Kats (a Japanese staple!), Japanese beer, and some American snacks like Pringles.

We pre-purchased the Value fare bundle that included a single in-flight meal with a small bottle of water and were very happy with that decision. We packed plenty of our own airplane-friendly snacks as well (especially because my younger child is pretty picky).

We found that the food on the flight departing Japan is tastier than the food we had on our outbound leg from San Francisco. Because that is the airline's headquarters, it has a larger catering operation there with more authentically Japanese cuisine. So frugal American travelers may want to skip the meal departing the USA and rely on packing food from home, and then spring for the meal on the return when it will be harder to prep food on your trip.

8. Bring your own device (and headphones) for everyone in the family.

There are no screens on ZIPAIR planes, even if you book the lie-flat seats in the front of the cabin. But that doesn't mean you will be without entertainment.

ZIPAIR has free streaming movies and TV shows to your own device, so everyone in the family will need a phone or tablet to access that as well as their own set of compatible headphones. We especially appreciated how the seats had a special tray above the normal tray table that was perfect for propping up a device to watch - a major benefit of traveling aboard the brand new aircraft that ZIPAIR has!

The airline also has free WIFI. It wasn't the best quality, but I was able to use it to get a bit of emailing and work done.

While I always recommend traveling with a portable power banks just in case, it's always nice to have in-seat power too. All seats in both cabins are equipped with an outlet that will fit a variety of plug sizes and shapes (including the Type A US size - which is the same that Japan also uses). There is a USB-A port as well, so make note if you have newer Apple technology which has switched to USB-C.

9. You may only be able to check in at the airport.

As new as the airlines is, you might expect it to be pretty technologically advanced. In some ways, it is. But in others - particularly the check-in experience - it is very old school.

A few days before our trip, I investigated ZIPAIR's check-in process so we could streamline our travel day logistics. I went to the App Store to find a ZIPAIR app, but found it wasn't available to download outside of Japan.

I then logged on to ZIPAIR's website. Much to my additional surprise, I found that there is no way to check in online for many of ZIPAIR's flights. The airline is rolling out online check-in on an airport-by-airport basis, and it isn't even available at SFO yet.

So, leave plenty of times to do things the old way where you actually have to go to the ticket counter! That is also where agents will weigh your bags (both checked and carry on). We were actually quite happy the weighing happened here, because that mean that any of our post-security purchases or filling up of our water bottles didn't count in the weight total - a nice mini-hack!

Lines thankfully were not very long for us at SFO. They were even shorter at Tokyo's Narita Airport because they have kiosks to scan passports and check-in before the bag drop with an agent.

10. Don't fear the language barrier.

Finally, I know a lot of American travelers (particularly non-frequent flyers) are justifiably a little wary of booking an international airline, particularly an ultra-low-cost carrier. I've flown low-cost carriers based in other countries before, and have noticed that sometimes passengers can be at an information disadvantage if they don't speak the native language (see my review of Mexico's Volaris Airlines).

We were relieved to find that ZIPAIR is fully bilingual. Everyone we encountered from gate agents to flight attendants spoke fluent English as well as Japanese. The English website is pretty simple and the translations are at times a bit awkward, but the entire experience from booking to flying turned out to be very navigable for English-speaking travelers.

We found that on our flight at least, passengers were very much an equal mix of Americans and Japanese nationals. I'm guessing the intra-Asia flights may be a bit different, but if you are an English-speaking traveler coming from North America, it all feels incredibly familiar.

The Bottom Line: What Our Family Really Thought of ZIPAIR

Our ZIPAIR experience to and from Japan was almost universally positive. We had no technical problems, no surprises, and flights were on time. The in-flight experience on international flights in economy is never truly comfortable, but we were as comfortable as we could thanks to the newer plane.

Ultimately, we felt got an excellent value for the price we paid on ZIPAIR. It's easy to upgrade the experience and make it a little more comfortable with a number of reasonably-priced extras for those passengers who want that. And for the most budget-minded, you can truly do the airline very cheap if you so wish.

I've also included a slideshow of additional photos I took in our travels below so you can see the plane and its features from every angle possible.

If you want even more information, read my full flight review of my ZIPAIR experience on The Points Guy and see this ZIPAIR review with young children written by a friend and neighbor.