TOKYO'S NEW BUDGET AIRLINE: ZipAir 787 Economy Class Narita to San Jose
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- Опубліковано 14 лип 2024
- Japan has a growing budget airline. ZIPAIR operates a 787 fleet from Tokyo-Narita to a few destinations in Asia. Last year, they launched their first US service to Los Angeles, and this past December, they started service to San Jose as their second US destination.
Let me know your thoughts on ZIPAIR, and stay posted for my review on their Business Class cabin coming up later this year!
0:00 NRT Check In
2:17 NRT Terminal 1
4:00 TraveLounge
6:55 NRT Showers
7:40 Boarding
9:20 The Seat
13:00 IFE
14:50 Takeoff NRT
17:49 Wi-Fi
19:28 Restroom
20:25 1st Meal Service
21:10 2nd Meal Service
22:15 Thoughts on ZIPAIR
24:52 Landing SJC
27:08 Final Thoughts
Considering ZipAir is a budget airline, I was very impressed. I flew from Honolulu to Narita and back last December and it was a smooth flight. I've been using this airline for direct flights to Japan and connecting flights to all over Asia since. I would definitely recommend.
Tip: If you don't want to spend money on in-flight meals, buy from the stores or restaurants at the airport before your flight.
Great in depth reviews. Like the style. Nice that things aren't abbreviated to shorten the videos. The video ends when the content is done. Perfect.
I’m glad you like it! Thank you
some between $300-$400 for a flight from USA to Japan is insane value. That could easily bring someone's future closer in time than having to save for the $1000+ flights.
I never knew this airline existed! If I were a CA resident, I'd definitely keep this in my head for flights to Japan. Keep up the good work. I've been enjoying your videos.
Glad you liked it! I agree, a great option for getting to Asia for cheap
One of the most informative reviews on Zipair. You touched up on all the important bases without too much talking.
Thank you! Glad you liked it
ZipAir has a smart strategy flying from Asia to San Jose(SJC). It may not be obvious but isn't hard to find out...San Francisco(SFO) used to be the hub for Bay Area/Silicon Valley but over the years, most of the flying population (affluent and business travelers) tend to be living in the south, i.e. near SJC, as most tech companies are based here. Saving on time and the round-trip Uber rides makes ZipAir super attractive option for many
I agree, but unfortunately it doesn’t get enough of the tourists. British Airways is about to pull their SJC service and there were lots of pre-pandemic carriers that did the same. The SJ locals love it, but no one outside the US knows to book the flight to SJC instead
Great review and super detailed! Thank you! I'll be flying this route in the full-flat in March.
Thank you! Enjoy your flight! I’m looking forward to trying that product out
Enjoyed your trip report. Very well detailed.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching
Love the vids man! Been watchin a ton of your stuff lately and you do some awesome routes! I’m flying ATL-HNL in delta one next month and I’m insanely excited
That should no-doubt be an awesome flight!
Thank you so much for all the info--very informative!
Thank you!
Would you share some thing about carry-ons?
In your video, I saw People with a backpack on their back, plus one bag in each hand. That’s a total of three items, correct?
I thought only two items are allowed. What was your situation?
Thank you so much again!
@@291135 I had one checked bag, and a backpack, but I believe there were many who also placed a bag in the overhead bins. I didn’t experience how they treat carry ones but I believe you get 7kg for free and then you can purchase it for extra weight
Really nice trip report!
Thank you!
Appreciate your thoroughness. My wife and I will be flying to Japan after a long 3-years break from SJ in March.
Thank you! If you're flying with Zipair, I can assure you, it is well worth the money! Definitely pre-order some good food!
Thanks for this vlog.
Thanks!
Just flew NRT-LAX with Zipair yesterday in economy. Excellent. Will be my go-to for Japan travels.
Totally! Now I just want to try out their lie flat seats, considering you can use them to get to Japan for under $1000 with a bed
I Have Not Heard About Zipair.Great Work
Thank you!
Flew them from Singapore to Narita recently and was impressed. Was an overnight flight so slept most of it but the meal was good.
Glad you liked it too. Meals we’re definitely my highlight. Hoping to try out the lie flats and see what differences that offers
Great trip report. Since Zip Air's mother company is JAL, I have high expectation for them and I even thought their B787s have IFE; so at first I was a little disappointed. But seeing that huge legroom, those wonderful meals, and also free Wi-Fi has changed my mind. Now, I think they're a good airline, and the best of all budget airlines; and I'd love to give them a try in the future.
It’s definitely missing some big perks, but still probably the best budget airline I’ve ever flown
Great video!
Thanks!
Hope you get to fly to Taiwan soon on either EVA Air, a five-star airline, or China Airlines (Taiwan owned) with a review.
As usual, another great vlog with nice emphasis on meal service 👍
I have plans later this year on both EVA and China Airlines to/from Taipei. Stay tuned, I’m looking forward to those! Thanks!
I'm going on Zip Air in March from LAX and watching these videos have prepared me. Looks good for the price point and with some planning. The issue is you need to get to a departure city if you are not in LA or San Jose or San Fran. I have SWA for that.
Nice video bro, most informative about Zipair and not just some influence say "look i went to japan for cheap"
Haha! I loved the Zipair experience. Trying out the lie-flat later this year, so I can see how that is. They do represent Japan well!
@@PatrickSheaAviation im typing this reply from the Zipair full flat seat midair 😅. The free wifi seems better on this flight then what iv seen in videos. I can communicate with loved ones via messager apps perfectly, even go a few phone calls in with wifi calling on my mobile device.
Zipair full flat experience ia not as good as Air Asia's full flat experience.
I’ll fly them anytime, I paid four times that amount to fly Denver to Munich recently and I got crappy service as usual.
Japanese airlines all offer great and consistent service. Zipair is no exception despite being a low cost carrier
What airline was that ?
@@alancampos8906 UA
great value indeed and the free wifi on a transoceanic is wild
Totally!
Hi Patrick, I"m so glad you did this video. I heard so many horror stories about this airline and I was worried about flying from Narita back to the states, but I think I will after seeing this video. Thank you again!
It was definitely not a “luxury” experience, but there wasn’t really anything wrong with it, per se. Definitely order some great food though 😁
Flying them in July. Looking forward to it, all I've seen are positive reviews.
It was the highest quality budget airline I’ve flown for sure
Bring plenty of food because their meals are tiny.
Overall great experience from SJCNRT RT even though our outbound flight was 4 hours late. The planes were actually newer and cleaner than ANA's, JAL's and UA's. And good thing we did not activate our JR Pass till we arrived.
Awesome! I did enjoy my flight. Next time in the lie flats
@@PatrickSheaAviation Going back this summer to catch all our favorite firework festivals!
I'm going to Tokyo on this airline in may ,only cost me $700 round trip
good review
Enjoy the trip! Definitely order some good food!
Very impressed with the inclusion of free wifi and low cost meals/drinks
I agree! Better than most other airlines in the world in that sense
Great Video!! Is your channel new?? The price sounds good to me. Thanks From San Diego.🌴
Can’t wait for them to start flying to nyc
I'm impressed, an American that knows how to pronounce ' Niche ' correctly!
There are at least two “correct” pronunciations of that word in English, depending on which dictionary you check.
If I weren't mileage running with United before May, I was eyeing ZIPAir NRT-LAX; however, United offered basic economy on their 787-10 for $289, which I topped up to $340 to sit in econ+ and add bags, etc. My status allows me access to the ANA lounge also. We'll see how that goes on my video!
- Red
I typically rely on my United priority for the extra benefits as well, but I always enjoy trying out new airlines (especially for that cheap)
Great video. Didn’t know about this service launching. I live in the Bay Area so this service is relevant to me. Although, I live in the north half of the Bay Area, about 1.5hrs drive from SJC, so it’s not as convenient as SFO or OAK. But I’ve driven to SJC before for a long haul deal and would do so again if the price is right. Also the parking is a huge savings compared to a major airport like SFO. Too bad SJC is not well connected to good regional bus and rail like SFO is, making it inconvenient even for those who might live close by but want to save on parking costs by taking transit to the airport. Parking at SFO can range from $25-40 per day, so on a trip of more than a few days, it really pays to take transit to that airport.
It’s a great price for anyone near by to get to Asia for sure! The transit at SJC is a bummer. A BART extension to SJC would change a lot
@@PatrickSheaAviation you can take the VTA bus (route 60) for free if you're going from SJC to the milpitas bart station or you can go to caltrain santa clara station as well. It goes to both. You will have to pay bus fare for the VTA if you're going to SJC airport, but hey! It's better than having to pay both ways.
Zip air is a great airline at a terrific value.
I do wish they’d offer round trip discounts though.
Totally! I would love to try out their lie flats. $900 San Jose to Tokyo in lie flats is a big time win!
i liked your take-off and landing scenes from your video :D thanks for sharing about this airline
Thanks! Glad you liked it
The flight looks super safe with the staff wearing latex gloves!
Yep! They were fantastic!
thats awesome price
Zip Air has had service to Honolulu since 2020, so before LAX and San Jose. I see them at HNL all the time. 🤙🏼🌈🌺🐢
I am planning on trying out their Honolulu service in the lie flat seats! Looking forward to it! Mahalo!
I think you might need to access to onboard Wifi first then access to the air shopping😂 Cause those data usually stored on aircraft server instead of internet
Hawaii is a part of the US. SJC is the third US destination for ZipAir
Thank you for your informative review. Does Zipair provide a blanket?
No blanket for us on this flight. I am not sure if the lie flat seats come with a blanket or not however
@@PatrickSheaAviation Thank you so much for your help.
Thanks for the informative video! Just booked a trip for this summer. Regarding the luggage, JAL (and most every other airline) lists the TSA standard 22"x18"x10" (56cm x 45cm x 25cm) carry-on dimensions. ZIP specifically shows 55cm x 40cm x 25cm for the larger of two carry-on items including the wheels. Did you happen to notice if they strictly enforced this limit with other travelers or is this a case of a Japanese to English translation misfire?
I didn’t observe anything out of the ordinary when I boarded. It looked like every other flight I go on, so maybe they weren’t enforcing it, or maybe people had bags of the right size? I’m not quite sure. It may have helped that the flight was only about 75% full so there was some extra bin space
@@PatrickSheaAviation Good to know. Having not travelled with Zip before we want to make sure we meet the guidelines as best we can.
Just a backpack is the way to go!
Enjoyed the video. How was the cabin crew? Were they attentive? Polite?
To be fair, I slept for about half the flight. But the other half, they were attentive but spent most their time handing out pre-purchased items like meals and amenity kits. This did make them spend most time in the cabin so you could flag them down. They were all very nice, as is the culture in Japan typically
Starting next year, Zip air will fly to Vancouver for the 1st time that a low cost airline can fly to Canada. Are you gonna fly Zip air's business class from Narita to Vancouver or Vancouver to Narita?
I hope this brings down fares to Tokyo, especially Biz class, which is ridiculous!
Agreed! Having cheap competition is huge. Our lie flats on this flight were full showing that people will even pay for the premium product of this airline since it’s so cheap
How was the weighing of your carry on? I noticed they seem strict on their website. Wanted to know when they normally weigh it
They weighed my bags at the check in kiosk. I was able to split the weight between my carry one and check ins
Was there a paid upgrade to full flat option at check in? If so, anyone knows the price? I'm considering ZIP for an upcoming trip to Tokyo.
At the check in counter, I asked, and was told to ask at the gate. By the time I got there, it was sold out. So it sounds like it is possible, but only if space is available
Considering that flights to Asia usually are $2500 and up, $350 - 400 for a ticket to Japan sounds awesome!
I'm now curious about the business class for ZipAir, which I assume would be a little more (in the $1000 range). I'm also curious about their miles program.
Good review.
I saw prices around $900-1200 from SJC to Tokyo. I am hoping to try it out this year at some point
My wife and I paid $675 RT with no amenities and flew 3 weeks ago. Can't beat the price. Besides, what international airline offers free onboard wifi?
@@nateshf9303 Interesting!
@@kirk1701 We prefer LAXHND on ANA only because it arrives in Tokyo at 5:30 AM.
Good video but still wondering weather I should drive to L.A to fly to Tokyo their or just fly from San Diego where I live and take Jal to rokyo
Convenience is huge! But so is cost… just depends if it’s worth it. You may even be able to get a Zipair lie flat for a similar cost to JAL economy if you don’t purchase too many extras
My wife and I used to fly from SF to LA and then to HND (on ANA) which was cheaper than flying from SF to HND and because we like the 1am departure time. Lands in Tokyo at 5:30am the next day.
When you went with ZIPAIR did they weigh your back pack too or just your carry on luggage?
I did have to weigh everything at check in. Backpack incluced
American Airlines used to fly sjc-nrt
Long long time ago. I do miss the days when SJC and OAK were legitimate alternatives for SFO
FDX Flight from NRT/OAK is an MD11. Probably blew them out of the water because their payload is about 120K+ LBS and over 250K LBS of fuel not to mention its a 33 year old freighter.
Wasn’t even a fair fight! 😂
Awesome review video. I hope they fly to JFK or EWR in the future. Yes that FedEx aircraft is a MD-11. I used to work for them and used to jump seat for free on their planes back in the 1990’s and been to NRT.
@@squawk012h Yeah I only got to jumpseat to HNL for the weekend and SLC before 9/11 happened.
@@jaimeramirez4766 do you still work at FedEx? I remembered back then they were using the old flying tigers 747 between OAK and HNL.
@@squawk012h Yep 31 years and counting. Yeah the half painted 747 between HNL/OAK. Oak is where I am at.
I plan on flying out of San Jose on Zipair in the next month. I was wondering about the in flight meal. I see you ordered 2. Did you ask the cabin crew to serve your meals separately?
They came by shortly after departure to ask how I wanted them served so I chose which meal to eat at which time
How far in advance did you buy your tickets before your trip?
This was probably ~2 months in advance
love san jose airport.
When was your flights? I purchased the flight for May and the price is ~$800
This flight was back in December right after the launch. I do know the prices can vary slightly, but last time I checked, if you were flexible with dates, you could get it for super cheap
$800 is overpriced.
If you didn't add carry on can you add it at the airport?
That’s a great question. They asked what bags I had, which I feel like implies that they would charge me for anything that still needed to be covered but I’m not 100% sure
LCC are good for short trips but not for Tokyo-US trips.
Maybe so, but I beg to differ in this case. I would definitely take this flight again. I think Zipair does it really well
TO THIS ‘ZIPAIR 767’ JET BLOGGER [“PATRICK SHEA”], WHAT “A LOVELY ZIPAIR 787’S LATEST, INFLIGHT ENTREE” AND Y’ALL, “LATEST ZIPAIR 787 VIEWERS, ‘MAY YOUR GRAND CREATOR BLESS’ ALL!!” 🍹🍱🍧
Get rid of the Premium Economy class. They're jokes and ripoffs, in my experience. ZIPAIR full-flat seats are far worth, valuable, and much cheaper than P. Economy Class. Yet, you get more oversized full-flat seats with personal space.👍 You can order nice decent meals when you purchase tickets. I bought a couple of sandwiches, munchies, and drinks before getting on board😘. Who could ask for anything more? I love everything about ZIPAIR🎉💖😎.
Totally! I have been wanting to try their lie flats for a while and compare them to the value of others
Can you bring your own food onboard?
I don't see why not. It was never checked. It would save you $20-30 on the onboard meals, although I do think the quality of meals onboard was amazing!
Being a One world mileage user I prefer Japan airlines out of SFO to Tokyo and vice versa i tend to fly business class with japan airlines because i personaly like the benefits and the lounge access that one world has to offer
No debate that JAL is a better airline (especially in Business Class), but if you're looking for a budget flight, there is nothing wrong with Zipair.
@@PatrickSheaAviation Thats very true a good way for other people who want to travel on a low cost budget. Im just not into flying on a low cost carrier to Japan.
omg, free Wifi, many carriers charge thousands still got no wifi...
Exactly! Go Zipair!
zipair wants to become scoot
zip are far better😂
I'm not a fan of LCC's. I wouldn't choose it. I'd rather pay more and take Japan Airlines, ANA or Singapore. For those with limited means, Zip does look pretty good.
Watched a few of your TR’s, I like them, however why only use Imperial measurements? It’s only the US that uses that ridiculous system, the rest of the world uses the simple Metric system, WTF is 5 feet 9!!!
Lol this brain doesn’t work in metric
Love your vid. Not flying there until masks are done.
You’re video has too many ads put in less ads and I skipped them all
First time on youtube?
In my experience, Zipair sucks. Less than no support of any kind (including email).
Boo ads