I've travelled to plenty of places in Japan now (and god knows when I get to write about all of them), and if I had to purchase flight tickets from only JAL or ANA, I'd probably be plenty broke right now. While they are definitely top of the line airlines, not everyone has the money or option to collect miles (points) to trade in for a flight. This often means you really need to shop for some cheaper options if you want to have a few days of escape from work.
I'll be talking about all these airlines eventually:
1) Peach Airlines
2) Skymark Airlines
3) Solaseed Airlines
4) Starflyer Airlines
This post will be on Peach, so stay tuned for the rest of them :)
These are just some of the bigger LCCs in Japan that I've been on, and they either fly out of (and into) Kobe Airport or Kansai International Airport. Of course there are other smaller ones like Spring Japan, Fuji Dream Airline (FDA), etc. But I've personally never been on these ones and therefore I don't think I can comment on them.
If I ever get a chance to ride them though, I will edit this list as necessary.
Notice that Jetstar Airways is not on the list, even though they have a lot of Japanese domestic routes. I'll be honest with you - I have never taken Jetstar. In fact, I almost subconsciously avoid it? No one I know has a good review about it, and for an LCC, they're still quite expensive. So I guess that's my candid review of Jetstar lol. I also suppose they are Australian and not Japanese, so it doesn't really matters.
Now that's out of the way, let's begin!
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Peach Airlines
Admittedly, I've used Peach the most out of this list of LCC. Not because they're GOOD by any means, in fact if I have to be honest, I've had the most horror stories with them by far. But let's talk about that later...
The Good:
They usually have some REALLY good deals and highly depending on your situation, the cheapest option.
Peach often has flights as low as 2990 yen for certain routes. If you are an early-planner, and 100% sure you will be travelling the days you've decided on, then those deals can absolutely work in your favour. If you're also a no-fuss, minimalist type of traveller that can fit a week of your life in 7KG carry-on luggage (totalling 2 bags only), then Peach is great for you.
I also had to deal with customer support once. In my own experience, they were also very no-fuss. Though I had a very specific situation that I'd rather not talk about here, and it was pretty easy for them to grant me what I needed without any fuss.
I’ve also never had issues with safety and all the staff are as professional as they can be. No complaints there.
That's about where all the good ends...
The Bad (very bad):
Oh god, let's talk about those seats. They are the most uncomfortable pieces of crap your butt will ever get acquainted with. You'll definitely see how thin the seat depth is, and god forbid you have someone behind you kicking your seat - you will feel every bit of it.
The leg space is also very much non-existent. I'm an average built Asian and if I sat upright, there's probably only a few centimeters between my knee and the seat in front of me.
Comfort is not their motto here.
Now, let's put that 7KG into some perspective here. I have a hard case carry-on luggage I always use and a backpack (or tote bag). I am quite minimalist when packing, in my opinion. If I went travelling for a week in the summer with only 4 sets of clothes, toiletries, chargers, ipad, and a few misc items - I am already at 8KG. This is without my backpack.
One way to combat that is to use a soft luggage bag. The best way is to travel with a second minimalist (lol) so you have a combined 14KG and 4 bags to play around with, but not everyone has a travel partner. Which means this 7KG is pretty ridiculous and it forces you to basically pay for checked in baggage.
Cheap it definitely is, but that's literally just their base cost. Everything else basically has a price. Yep, if you can't make that 7KG carry-on limit, you're most definitely going to have to pay to get it checked in. If you're sure in advance that you won't make it, you can pay the price when you're buying your tickets to get a better deal. But it's still extra cost which makes your 2990 yen ticket no longer a 2990 yen ticket.
And of course, if you want to choose your seat, be prepared to pay for that too.
Want a cancellation option for your ticket? Cha-ching. 💰
Oh yeah, let's talk more about those seats! If you opted out of paying for seat selection, and you are travelling with someone, you can very potentially end up sitting on completely opposite ends of the plane. Good luck if you are travelling with a a young child, you aren't switching seats with anyone. Seat switching is absolutely forbidden, even if there is an completely empty row somewhere. If you've gotten away with it before on Peach, then congratulations - but you're going to have a very hard time if you're expecting that chance.
Lastly, a caution for those taking evening flights from Peach. There have been several instances where I completely missed the last train out into the city from KIX because the flight was delayed for an hour. I’ve had delays with Peach quite often in the past, but sometimes you do get lucky and it’s smooth sailing.
But yeah, if you are flying into KIX, keep in mind that if your flight lands anywhere around 11:30pm, you will most probably miss your last train into Osaka. Peach flights are land in terminal 2, which means you will need an extra 10-15 minutes to shuttle bus back to the main terminal for trains.
Yeah, the shuttle bus is quite a hassle sometimes unfortunately.
All in all, it is a VERY budget airline and there is a reason why it’s dirt cheap sometimes.
But as I begin to write reviews for the other airlines, you may see that LCCs don’t have to be this way. I recommend Peach if you don’t have much luggage and you are simply just satisfied to get from point A to B. There’s a high chance you can book cheap with them, so they do serve their purpose one way or another!
Thanks for reading, see you next time!