Tag: travel

In April 2023, I flew to my favorite country, Japan, for the first time since the pandemic. I thought I was just in time for the cherry blossom season, but Sakura started early this year. I saw a ₱1 base fare ticket to Fukuoka from Osaka a few months ago and decided to grab this low fare to visit Japan again.

Upon arrival in Fukuoka, I stayed only for a night and decided to fly to Osaka the next day and base there for the remaining 6 days. Between these 2 cities, I flew with one of Japan’s biggest low-cost airlines – Peach Aviation. This Peach Aviation flight MM 158 from Fukuoka to Osaka Kansai is today’s flight report feature. Read on below as I share details about this future-proof and efficient Japanese domestic flight.

In case you missed it, I post reviews & features of my flights since June 2019. I’ve covered airlines such as EVA Air, Indonesia Air Asia, Singapore Airlines, Emirates & Cebu Pacific Air. All posts about these flights are found under the Flight Reports category.

Peach Aviation

Peach Aviation Limited, operating as Peach, is a Japanese low-cost airline based in Osaka, Japan. The airline was founded by All Nippon Airways and Hong Kong-based private equity firm First Eastern Investment Group on 10 February 2011. The airline was initially named A&F Aviation and rebranded to Peach on 24 May 2011.

The airline had its first domestic commercial flight to Sapporo and Fukuoka on 1 March 2012. It also marked the first flight by a Japanese low-cost airline in the country. It flew its first international route from Osaka Kansai International Airport to Seoul Incheon International Airport back on 8 May 2012. The airline has launched several domestic and international routes through the years and has become one of the biggest low-cost carriers in the country. In 2018, All Nippon Airways, its parent company, announced the merger of Peach and another low-cost carrier, Vanilla Air, with Peach as the surviving entity.

Today, Peach flies to 37 destinations within Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, and Thailand. It has bases in Osaka, Naha (in Okinawa), Tokyo Narita, and Sendai. The airline operates an all-Airbus A320 fleet. It expects deliveries of Airbus A320neos and Airbus A321LR (long-range) aircraft in the next few years. On 24 April 2023, the airline celebrated an important milestone as it flew its 50millionth passenger since it started its operations.

Peach sports a unique livery consisting of pink, purple, and white color schemes. As far as I am aware, the airline does not have a loyalty program. It has a monetary token called Peach Points where these points can be used to pay for Peach flights, add-ons, and government taxes.

Peach is a low-cost airline. The airline offers basic airline fares at low and affordable prices. Any other add-ons and services availed of such as check-in baggage allowance, seat selection, and inflight meals are paid on top of the basic fare.

Do you want to know the difference between a full-service & a low-cost airline? Check out my previous post detailing the differences of these 2 types of airlines.

Airfare

I booked my one-way ticket 2 months before the intended flight date and paid ¥8,260. I availed of the airline’s Simple Peach basic fare and bought a 20-kilogram check-in baggage allowance as an add-on. My local credit card issuer charged me ₱3,559.50, including the foreign currency transaction conversion fees.

I believe the total fare price is reasonable considering it was for a flight during the peak Sakura season and it was booked 2 months before the flight.

Travel Requirements

The airline staff only requested a valid identification card during counter check-in. They specifically asked for my Philippine passport during check-in. Apart from the confirmed airline ticket and valid ID, the airline staff did not require any other requirements to board this flight.

Before The Flight

3 days before the flight, Peach Aviation sent a flight email reminder. They sent a pre-flight preparation checklist and tons of information about check-in and bag drop procedures. They also offered more add-ons such as additional baggage allowance and seat selection.

At the time of the flight, check-in procedures are only done at the airport at least 1.5 hours before the flight. Recently, the airline has introduced flight check-in procedures through its official mobile application.

Aircraft & Flight Information

This Fukuoka to Osaka Peach flight MM158 utilized a 7.4-year-old (at the time of the flight) Airbus A320-214 aircraft. This plane, delivered to the airline in November 2015, is registered under JA817P. It has 180 seats in an all-economy class 3 x 3 configuration.

The flight took off from Fukuoka International Airport at 6:13 p.m. and touched down at Kansai International Airport in Osaka at exactly 7:00 p.m. The flight only took 47 minutes and arrived 5 minutes ahead of schedule.

Ground & Airport Experience

Domestic flights out of Fukuoka International Airport depart from the Domestic Terminal. This is the airport terminal connected to the Kūkō Line of the Fukuoka City subway system.

CHECK-IN

Check-in for domestic Peach flights opens 90 minutes before the scheduled time of departure. Passengers first check-in through the check-in kiosks, line at the counters for document check, and drop bags for weight and security checks at the bag-drop counter. Seats are assigned automatically unless availed of for an additional fee.

This unique check-in process took me less than 5 minutes to finish. Add to that, the ground staff at the document check and bag-drop counters were nice and accommodating. It was an easy, quick, and efficient check-in process. Well done, Peach!

PRE-DEPARTURE

After check-in, I lined up and took some time to pass through security. I walked to our assigned gate, Gate 2, and noticed that the noticeboards included the expected flight delays in the smallest timeframe (10 to 15 minutes).

The Gate 2 pre-departure area had enough seats for all the people in our flight. It even had workstations for those who wanted to do some work while waiting or those who needed to go into a meeting before catching a flight.

BOARDING

The ground staff announced the pre-boarding reminders at 5:30 p.m. They started boarding passengers at 5:35 p.m., 20 minutes before the scheduled departure.

Passengers assigned to seats A and F in rows 16 and above boarded the plane first. They were followed by all passengers seated between rows 16 and above. Next, passengers assigned to seats A and F in rows 1 to 15 boarded the plane. They were followed by the rest of the passengers. One quick note – all boarding announcements were made in Japanese and not in English.

The crew closed the cabin doors at 5:55 p.m. The boarding process was finished in 20 minutes. It was quick, orderly, and efficient. The plane pushed back at exactly 6:00 p.m.

Inflight Hard & Soft Product

SEAT FEATURES

This Fukuoka to Osaka Peach flight was operated by an all-economy-class Airbus A320-200 aircraft. The plane has 180 economy seats configured in a 3 x 3 arrangement split in the middle by a single aisle. According to SeatGuru, all seats (excluding the exit row seats) have a seat width of 17 inches and a seat pitch of 29 inches.

I got an aisle seat (4C) for this quick flight to Osaka. Each seat features an industry-standard leg room, a foldable tray table and a seat pocket with the aircraft safety card, air sickness bag, inflight magazines (both in English and Japanese) and an inflight digital service information sheet. Each passenger also has access to individual air vents and individual reading lights.

INFLIGHT SNACKS

Peach does not offer complimentary snacks or meals onboard. Passengers can purchase snacks, meals, or drinks onboard through the inflight digital service. Unlike other low-cost carriers, the Peach cabin crew does not go around the plane and offer snacks to the passengers. They only go to the passengers once food orders made through the inflight portal are served.

They offer a wide range of snack and drink options at reasonable prices. I did not avail of any food or drink service during this flight.

INFLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT

Like most low-cost airlines, Peach Aviation planes do not feature personal entertainment screens. They provide inflight magazines both in English and Japanese.

The airline also has an inflight portal where passengers can browse through various entertainment contents such as airline original videos and other variety shows. The portal’s shop offers souvenirs for those who want to buy some and transportation tickets for those who want to take the bus from Kansai Airport to Umeda. The portal also features a moving inflight map that shows real-time details about the flight.

INFLIGHT CONNECTIVITY

Peach did not offer in-flight Wi-Fi on this short flight to Osaka. Passengers can connect to the onboard connection only to access the inflight portal and not to use the internet or messaging applications.

LAVATORY

I did not get the chance to visit the lavatory because the flight was a little under an hour.

Cabin Crew Service

Unfortunately, I did not have a direct interaction with the cabin crew on this flight. I saw them only during boarding, before take-off and landing and during disembarkation. At least, they made sure that everyone followed the protocols during these times. Overall, the cabin service lack personal touch from the crew.

Disembarkation & Baggage Claim

The aircraft touched down at Kansai International Airport at exactly 7:00 p.m. and taxied to Terminal 2. We got off the plane through the tarmac and walked quite a distance to the baggage claim area. We got our bags after a few minutes and headed to the free shuttle bus to Terminal 1 / Kansai Airport train station.

The arrival experience was almost like our Jetstar flight from Sapporo to Tokyo Narita back in February 2018.

Flight Experience

I had a fun, interesting and unique flying experience with Peach Aviation. I believe some of the Japanese way of doing things are different from what we are used to, but they totally make sense. I found their systems quick, efficient and future-proof.

This flight had some notable points. First, the check-in process was unique but quick and very efficient. The whole process took me less than 5 minutes and that included checking in via the kiosk, having my documents checked with the ground staff and surrendering my check-in luggage for a weight and security check.

Second, Fukuoka Airport announced every possible delay on their flight noticeboards. They announced the expected 5-minute delay. Impressive! Third, the boarding process was, again, unique but made everything run smoothly and quickly. I noticed that it is only in Japan that they board A and F passengers before anyone else. This specific process works and makes boarding faster.

Fourth, Peach Aviation’s inflight portal is something else. It is future-proof and a nice additional feature for a low-cost airline. Another airline that comes to mind is Scoot, with its ScootHub. I hope the other low-cost airlines in the region develop their own inflight portal. I seriously think this portal makes the inflight experience a lot better.

Lastly, the fare I paid for this flight (¥8,260 / ₱3,559.50) was worth every single penny. The airline offered an affordable fare during the peak season and delivered an excellent flying experience.

Moving to the other side, I personally think the airline can improve some parts of the flight. First, they can add more contents and options to the inflight portal. Currently, the entertainment options are limited to airline-related videos and some variety shows. It would be nice to have full movies or television series in the options.

Second, I hope the airline can also incorporate English announcements both during boarding and during the flight. They can continue making the announcements in Japanese, but I hope they can also add some English parts for the important ones. Lastly, I personally felt the lack of cabin crew touch on the flight. I may be saying this as someone who is used to the Southeast Asian kind of inflight hospitality. The cabin crew service still affects the overall flying experience.

Nevertheless, it was still an excellent flight with Peach Aviation. Will I fly them again in the future? Definitely. It would be interesting to see if other Japan-based airlines follow the same processes. I wonder if All Nippon Airways (ANA), Japan Airlines (JAL), Air Do, Jetstar Japan and other local airlines do the same thing. I hope I can fly all of them in the future.

To my fellow aviation geeks, here are some additional information about this domestic flight to Osaka:

Airline: Peach Aviation
Flight Date: 14 April 2023
Flight Number: MM 158
Route: Fukuoka, Japan (FUK) to Kansai Airport, Osaka, Japan (KIX)
Duration: 47 minutes
Seat Numebr: 4C (aisle seat)
Aircraft: Airbus A320-214
Aircraft Registration: JA817P
Engines: 2 x CFM International CFM56 Engines
Age (at the time of the flight): 7.4 years old
Delivered: November 2015

This sums up my first-ever flight with Peach! Have you flown Peach in the past? How was your experience? Will you fly Peach soon & or by any chance have questions about anything mentioned above? Feel free to share your experiences or post your questions in the comments section below. You may also send them via e-mail to contact@thewkndtravel.com.

Thank you for joining me in today’s Peach flight report. I hope you can also check out these flight reports as well as my previous flight reports with Cebu Pacific Air, Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Vietnam Airlines and Air France. All other previous flight reports can be found under the Flight Reports category. Feel free to check them out. Please look forward to more flight reports in the future.

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PS. Photos were taken using my OnePlus 9 Pro.