- Introduction: Zipping To Tokyo Via Mongolia
- Review: American First Class Boeing 737 (MIA-LGA)
- Review: Chase Sapphire Lounge New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA)
- Review: Chase Sapphire Lounge New York Kennedy Airport (JFK)
- Review: VIP ONE Lounge New York Kennedy Airport (JFK)
- Review: Primeclass Lounge New York Kennedy Airport (JFK)
- Review: Turkish Airlines Lounge New York Kennedy Airport (JFK)
- Review: Lufthansa Lounge New York Kennedy Airport (JFK)
- Review: Air France Lounge New York Kennedy Airport (JFK)
- Review: Air France Business Class Airbus A350 (JFK-CDG)
- Review: Air France HOP Business Class Embraer E190 (CDG-FRA)
- Review: Hyatt Place Frankfurt Airport (FRA)
- Review: Primeclass Lounge Frankfurt Airport (FRA)
- Review: MIAT Mongolian Airlines Business Class Boeing 787 (FRA-UBN)
- Review: MIAT Mongolian Airlines Lounge Ulaanbaatar Airport (UBN)
- Review: MIAT Mongolian Airlines Business Class Boeing 737 (UBN-ICN)
- Review: Seoul Incheon Airport Transit Hotel (ICN)
- Review: Oneworld Lounge Seoul Incheon Airport (ICN)
- Review: ZIPAIR Full Flat Business Class Boeing 787 (ICN-NRT)
- Review: Hotel Villa Fontaine Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND)
- Review: TIAT Lounge Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND)
- Review: Cathay Pacific Lounge Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND)
- Review: Japan Airlines First Lounge Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND)
For the next segment of my trip to Japan via Mongolia, I flew ZIPAIR’s Boeing 787-8 full flat business class on the 1hr45min flight from Seoul Incheon (ICN) to Tokyo Narita (NRT). For those not familiar, ZIPAIR is Japan Airlines’ low cost carrier that launched in 2020, and the airline offers a fascinating passenger experience.
In particular, the airline has what’s possibly the world’s most basic business class, with reverse herringbone seats that don’t have personal televisions, and don’t include any additional services. You’re literally just paying for the seat. Let me clarify that while I’m referring to this product as business class (because that’s the seat being offered), ZIPAIR doesn’t market it this way — the airline simply refers to it as “Full Flat.”
As I’ll explain below, flying with ZIPAIR is such an unusual experience compared to flying with virtually any other airline, and I enjoyed experiencing the product on a short flight. I’d say flying in ZIPAIR’s premium seating could represent a great value, especially for long haul travel, where a flat bed can make a huge difference. However, given that I have access to miles & points, I’m not sure I’ll necessarily be flying with ZIPAIR again.
In this post:
How I booked my ZIPAIR ticket
The ZIPAIR experience is unique from when you book your ticket. I was booking a one-way itinerary on the following flight:
1/29 ZG42 Seoul to Tokyo departing 1:10PM arriving 3:30PM
I could either pay $177.75 for a standard economy seat, or $216.47 for a reverse herringbone seat. An extra ~$39 for a seat like this is an absolute steal, eh?
That ~$39 covers just the seat, and nothing else. So if you want anything else, from a full size carry-on to a checked bag, you’ll need to pay for it. For this flight, there were a couple of different bundles that could be booked:
- The “value” bundle offered an advance seat assignment plus a checked bag
- The “premium” bundle offered an advance seat assignment, an in-flight meal, a checked bag, and a carry-on
Since I had a carry-on bag and wanted to select my seat, I chose the “premium” option, which was a better value than paying for those products individually (even though I didn’t need a checked bag). I was surprised to find that when I booked my ticket (a couple of weeks in advance), no seats were assigned yet in the full flat section.
During the booking process, you can also already reserve all kinds of extras, including food, drinks, an airport express service feature, an amenity set, cookies, and all kinds of other things.
In total, my ticket cost me $311.17. But that’s because I included just about everything, down to the amenity set, a meal, a drink, and even cookies. Since I was reviewing the experience, I wanted to go all out.
ZIPAIR full flat business class check-in & boarding
I had spent the night at the Incheon Airport Transit Hotel, so I never actually ended up making it to ZIPAIR’s check-in counter. That ended up being… a slight adventure.
Japan is so funny when it comes to technology — the country is simultaneously cutting edge, but also loves fax machines. Unfortunately ZIPAIR is more in the fax machine era than anything else. So here’s the reality of ZIPAIR’s online check-in situation:
- ZIPAIR is still only progressively rolling out online check-in on all flights, so not all routes are eligible for online check-in; you can find the latest information here
- If your route is eligible for online check-in, the only way to access the check-in portal is via the invitation that you’re emailed exactly 24 hours out, and you can’t access it directly from ZIPAIR’s website
- In that email it states that “if your passport information is not registered, an error screen will be displayed when you access the URL,” and you’re told that “if you wish to register your passport information, please contact our contact center with a copy of your passport attached”
Fortunately my online check-in worked out okay, and I headed straight to gate 113 at Incheon, where my flight would be departing from.
When I arrived at the gate, I showed the gate agent my passport and boarding pass to make sure everything was okay. She looked shocked that I had checked in online, and immediately pulled out the below paper about how ZIPAIR doesn’t provide transfer service without an interline agreement. This doesn’t just apply to checking bags through, but as she explained to me, she couldn’t even print a boarding pass for me.
So she got on the phone and called someone, and that was quite a production. Eventually she told me that everything was okay, so I walked around for a bit. Five minutes later I had a call on my cell phone from a manager, who asked me to return to the gate, as they needed information on where I was arriving from. At one point there must have been six gate agents huddled around the gate looking at my reservation. I was just so confused by what was going on, and why this was such a confusing concept to them.
But anyway, if you’re flying with ZIPAIR, be warned that online check-in might not be possible at all, and even if it is, it might not be simple.
Since I was at the gate plenty early, I got to see the ZIPAIR plane as it pulled into the gate upon arrival. My flight was operated by an 11-year-old 787-8 with the registration code JA827J (ZIPAIR primarily uses former Japan Airlines 787s). Gosh, ZIPAIR’s livery isn’t much to get excited about, eh?
Boarding was scheduled for 12:40PM, 30 minutes before departure. I was pleasantly surprised that ZIPAIR offers priority boarding to those in the full flat seats, since that’s the only way in which the soft product is differentiated. Those in rows one through five, as well as families with small children, could board first. Then boarding started from back to front.
As you’d expect, boarding started right on time. I couldn’t help but notice how ZIPAIR had nine gate agents for this flight — that’s not exactly low cost! In the US, you might see two gate agents for a plane of this size.
ZIPAIR 787 full flat business class cabin & seats
ZIPAIR’s full flat seats taken up the entire space between doors one and two on the Boeing 787-8. The cabin consists of a total of 18 seats, spread across five rows, in a 1-2-1 configuration (the first row doesn’t have a pair of seats in the center). These are reverse herringbone seats produced by JAMCO.
If you’re traveling with someone, you might prefer the pairs of center seats. Do note that these still offer quite a bit of privacy, so you’ll have to lean forward to talk to the person across from you. Furthermore, if you’re not traveling with the person across from you, there’s a little privacy shield you can extend.
I assigned myself seat 5A, the window seat on the left side in the last row. These are pretty standard reverse herringbone seats — they’re not the most cutting edge out there, but given the value, I’d say it’s an awesome product.
As far as seat features go, to the side of the seat there’s an exposed storage area, along with an AC and USB-A power outlet.
The tray table extends from the console to the side of the seat, and can be flipped over in half.
You can adjust the seat positions via a panel to the side of the seat, with three simple recline options.
The aisle-side armrest can be raised or lowered, depending on whether you want a place to rest your arm, or prefer a more spacious sleeping surface.
Without a doubt the strangest aspect of ZIPAIR’s full flat seats is that there’s no seat back television. The airline only has streaming entertainment and Wi-Fi, so I believe this is the world’s first reverse herringbone seat without an entertainment screen. The airline instead put the literature pocket in place of the screen, so you get to look at the safety card and an air sickness bag the entire flight.
This flight was of course too short to sleep, but I did briefly recline the seat to test out the comfort. I found it to be quite comfortable, and also found the footwell to be a good size.
I was pleased to see that the cabin has individual air nozzles, which you won’t often find on a Japanese airline, so that’s pretty cool
The plane also had colorful mood lighting, which is pretty standard on 787s nowadays.
ZIPAIR 787 Wi-Fi & entertainment
ZIPAIR has no seat back televisions, but instead has streaming entertainment and Wi-Fi. Using this is basically essential. as it’s not just about staying entertained. Rather, all food and beverage purchases, as well as all inflight shopping, needs to be done through the portal. There’s a brochure in the literature pocket explaining the inflight Wi-Fi.
ZIPAIR has unlimited free Wi-Fi with no data caps, and it’s easy to connect to the system.
There’s no need to log-in, but rather you just have to agree to the terms, so you can connect as many devices as you’d like. Wi-Fi is provided by Panasonic, and I found the speeds to be quite good. It’s funny how an ultra low cost carrier can offer this, while many full service airlines charge for it in business class.
Beyond the Wi-Fi, there’s also a selection of streaming entertainment, though it’s very limited. There were a total of 10 movies, plus 15 “programs,” which were all very short. I’d definitely recommend bringing your own entertainment on ZIPAIR, or otherwise plan on using the Wi-Fi to stay entertained.
The streaming entertainment also contained a map feature, which I enjoyed keeping an eye on.
I’ll talk more about food and beverages, as well as shopping, a little bit later.
ZIPAIR 787 departure from Seoul Incheon
The boarding process was quite efficient. It was especially quiet in the forward cabin, since there were only two other people seated there, while the rest of the plane seemed to be quite full. I guess ZIPAIR has a pretty cost conscious customer base (not surprisingly), since I think on other airlines a lot of people would spring for an upgrade at the low prices being charged.
During boarding, I enjoyed listening to the boarding music… sort of. ZIPAIR has its own dedicated boarding music track, which is kind of cool, though it’s only a 75-second song that loops. You’d think they’d make the track slightly longer.
I’ve gotta say, while the crew was as friendly as you’d expect for a Japanese airline, the vibe was very different than what I was used to. On other airlines, flight attendants are largely there to provide service, while on ZIPAIR they really felt more like “safety professionals.” They kind of just stood there looking at everyone. My first interaction with a crew member was when a few minutes after I got to my seat, a flight attendant asked me to fasten my seatbelt (well before the departure time).
Also, I’m not sure if the lead flight attendant was being shadowed by another flight attendant, or what, but there was one flight attendant who would just walk two steps behind her the whole flight, and repeat whatever she did.
At 1:05PM the main cabin door was closed. A minute later, the crew performed a manual safety demonstration, with an audio track playing in the background. Even once the safety demonstration wrapped up, we still didn’t depart.
At 1:20PM, the lead flight attendant announced that we were delayed by an additional five minutes due to congestion at the airport. Interestingly the pilot didn’t make any announcement to passengers during this flight. I’m not sure if that’s just the standard procedure at ZIPAIR, or if it was just this crew.
At 1:25PM we finally began our pushback.
Within five minutes we had our engines started, and began our taxi. It was a very short trip to runway 33L, where we were cleared for takeoff at 1:35PM.
We had gorgeous views on the climb out, and the seatbelt sign was turned off about 10 minute after takeoff.
ZIPAIR food, drinks, and service
Inflight service on ZIPAIR was unlike anything I’ve experienced on other airlines. On virtually every airline that I’ve flown (whether a low cost carrier or full service), a cart is rolled down the aisle with food and drinks. On ZIPAIR it’s a totally different story — there is no complimentary service, and everything has to be purchased via the Wi-Fi portal.
Then the crew simply delivers things to each passenger as they order them, so it’s not a front-to-back service, or anything. This worked great on my flight, though I’ve also heard that on some ZIPAIR flights the Wi-Fi doesn’t work for extended periods of time, so you can’t make purchases during that period. Very strange.
Below is part of the inflight shopping portal, where you can purchase everything from food, to drinks, to amenities, to gifts.
About 15 minutes after takeoff, the crew appeared at my seat with a box containing the meal that I had ordered. I ordered the sukeroku sushi set, which cost ~$10, and came with a bottle of water. Not only was the box sealed, but all the individual food items were in saran wrap.
The food was decent enough — it wasn’t amazing, but was edible. ZIPAIR does have a more extensive meal service on long haul flights, so I thought this was an acceptable selection for such a short flight.
I had also pre-ordered a Coke Zero, which cost ~$3. It didn’t come with a cup or ice, but rather I was just brought the can.
Five minutes later, the crew presented me with a plastic ZIPAIR bag, containing the amenity set I had ordered, which cost ~$18.
This set consisted of a blanket, slippers, eye mask, inflatable neck pillow, and ear plugs. While this wasn’t needed for such a short flight, I was curious what the selection was like, so I’m happy I picked this up.
I had also pre-ordered a box of white chocolate cookies for ~$6, which made a good gift for back home. This was delivered about 10 minutes after the amenity set.
At roughly the halfway point of the flight, the immigration and customs cards for Japan were distributed — these were complimentary. 😉
Anyway, this truly is a unique service flow, as I never once saw a cart in the aisle, and the crew also never tried to sell me anything.
ZIPAIR 787 lavatories
ZIPAIR’s 787s have a total of seven lavatories — there’s one by the cockpit, four by the second set of doors, and two by the rear set of doors. There’s no curtain between the full flat seats and the rest of the cabin, so passengers throughout the aircraft can use any of the lavatories.
However, I got the sense that the forward lavatory was reserved for the crew, as they instructed me to use the one behind the cabin, even though I saw the forward one was unoccupied.
The jet’s lavatories are totally standard Boeing 787 Dreamliner ones, with the only notable feature being a bidet in some of the lavatories.
ZIPAIR 787 arrival at Tokyo Narita
About 45 minutes before landing, we were treated to a beautiful view of Mount Fuji in the distance, which the lead flight attendant kindly pointed out over the PA.
Even without looking so far in the distance, the views were pretty awesome. Around this time we started our descent.
At 3PM, one of the pilots announced that flight attendants should prepare for landing, which was the only announcement from the flight deck. At that point the seatbelt sign was turned on.
We flew out over the water, and then had some pretty views as we started our final approach to Narita.
We touched down at Narita Airport at 3:20PM. Unfortunately we landed on runway 34R, which might as well be at Haneda Airport, based on how far from the terminal it is.
How far is runway 34R from the terminal? Well, about 15 minutes into our taxi, another ZIPAIR 787 arriving from Honolulu landed on runway 34L (much closer to the terminal), and it cut us on the taxiway.
About 20 minutes after we started our taxi, we came to a stop. At this point the flight attendant announced that our gate was occupied, and that we’d have to wait. Of course this is Japan, so they don’t give you any sort of an estimate of how long it will be, unless they can accurately say when something will happen.
After about 20 minutes we were finally cleared into our gate, where we pulled in at 4PM, around 30 minutes after our scheduled arrival time. On the plus side, immigration was quick, and I then took the bus from Narita Airport to Haneda Airport.
Bottom line
I’m delighted I had the chance to finally fly ZIPAIR’s intriguing flat bed product, though I’m still not sure what exactly to make of it.
I was impressed by ZIPAIR’s free Wi-Fi, and I thought the upcharge for a reverse herringbone seat was a steal. That being said, ZIPAIR is as basic as it gets when it comes to inflight service, with everything costing extra. I also found the service flow to be unlike anything I’ve experienced before, for better or worse.
I wouldn’t hesitate recommending ZIPAIR’s full flat product to someone who doesn’t have miles & points, but who values comfort. Personally, I have a strong preference for flying a full service airline, given that Asia has some of the world’s best carriers.
What’s your take on ZIPAIR’s 787 business class?
Regarding catering, doesn't Bonza do the same - purchases via the portal and no trolleys?
Just recently flew Lufthansa from SFO-MUN. With the exception of the wonderful pre-flight lounge at SFO (United Polaris Lounge) this report suggests that ZIP air is probably better than the Lufthansa Flight.
En-route the bad business seat left me with a bruised arm from shoulder to elbow, about 5 interactions with flight crew and some rest. About 2 hours after takeoff the FA's disappeared and only returned about 2 hours before landing.
Condor...
Just recently flew Lufthansa from SFO-MUN. With the exception of the wonderful pre-flight lounge at SFO (United Polaris Lounge) this report suggests that ZIP air is probably better than the Lufthansa Flight.
En-route the bad business seat left me with a bruised arm from shoulder to elbow, about 5 interactions with flight crew and some rest. About 2 hours after takeoff the FA's disappeared and only returned about 2 hours before landing.
Condor service is so much better.
While Ben used quite unvalid example, that doesn't change the fact that Japan is living in both the future and the past. Those who saying it isn't might have visited Japan before, but definitely have not lived there...
And by the way, don't compare the US to Japan. It's like comparing some third world country to the non-US first world country - an unfair comparison. I mean, don't you Americans know the best about...
While Ben used quite unvalid example, that doesn't change the fact that Japan is living in both the future and the past. Those who saying it isn't might have visited Japan before, but definitely have not lived there...
And by the way, don't compare the US to Japan. It's like comparing some third world country to the non-US first world country - an unfair comparison. I mean, don't you Americans know the best about how bad the stuff is in US?
If you're wondering, I like Japan too but unlike others, I just accept their dark(er) sides as well.
What I found interesting is that Zipair won’t allow kids under a certain age (I think 6) sit in these seats.
Its funny using the fax trope. From a country which still uses cheques and doesn't have peer to peer bank transfers lol
Even bank cards are of the obsolete kind. They do not double as debit cards, and can't be used overseas
Flew Peach last year and I believe they had a similar service flow. It was unique to order via phone wifi then pay in cash.
I did fall asleep for the first half of the flight so maybe they did pull the cart around.
Here we go again with fax machine slander..... plenty of Asian countries still use fax machines, as well as certain industries in the UK, specifically in smaller companies who might not have the capital to upgrade equipment or no one wants to take time to scan in pages of documents, password protect, and send via email for confidential documents. Just because they're obsolete in public eye doesn't mean they're not still being used regularly.
I find japan exasperating as noted. Seems like half the country is very tech embracing while half are either complete ludites or makes everything ridiculously complicated. For example, you would expect in modern cities you could buy a metro ticket with a credit card. Not japan. Instead you need to buy a suica type card where you load the card with cash using a credit card then you go buy your metro ticket with said...
I find japan exasperating as noted. Seems like half the country is very tech embracing while half are either complete ludites or makes everything ridiculously complicated. For example, you would expect in modern cities you could buy a metro ticket with a credit card. Not japan. Instead you need to buy a suica type card where you load the card with cash using a credit card then you go buy your metro ticket with said suica. This type of round about behavior was very evident in Japan's post pandemic reopening but not really reopening over and over. And if have tech development skills you can analyze websites from ana and jal and you can see how pages have lots of archaic technology and customer usage is very backwards. Even buying passes for Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto is frustratingly silly. You end up constantly asking why? Why require A to B to C to D when you can just go A to D.
He should've used another example. Fax machines are still reliable - but that doesn't mean Japan is living both in the future and the past.
"That doesn't mean Japam is not" - this is what I was gonna say
You don't know why does it matter - yes western businesses still use fax, but in Japan, it is still used at homes too.
people need a reality check from those influencer foreigners posting all those obnoxious "oNLy In jAPan" videos which shows things that are literally found all over developed and developing countries
Why are you saying "eh" so much? Have you moved to Maine?
Or Ontario ? LOL
It is a perfect product if it's not based in Japan, competing with NH/JL.
I’m all for this. Just give me a comfortable place to sleep. You can keep your champagne and meals. I can do better on the ground. Let’s hope they fly from JFK sometime soon.
Ben, there seems to be 18 lie-flat seats, not 20.
I would fly this airline in a heartbeat if they offered longhaul flights from my airport. A proper lie-flat J seat at a very decent cost. And I can pack my own snacks and sandwiches if I wish.
You know, this sort of concept is frankly what AA should be going after. They are never going to be able to offer a consistent, premium product that would siphon incremental revenue from competitors, so they might as well just go all in. Meals can have a "cheap crap" and more a premium "edible food" option. Buy-what-you-need amenity kits. Make up a bundle to throw at whatever remains of their corporate contracts, and make the...
You know, this sort of concept is frankly what AA should be going after. They are never going to be able to offer a consistent, premium product that would siphon incremental revenue from competitors, so they might as well just go all in. Meals can have a "cheap crap" and more a premium "edible food" option. Buy-what-you-need amenity kits. Make up a bundle to throw at whatever remains of their corporate contracts, and make the base fare the most basic product possible.
@Ben, you should've mentioned that their tickets aren't just nonrefundable, but they're also non-changeable. If you want to change anything, you have to cancel and rebook entirely. You might get some taxes back, but that's it.
@Ben
Zipair does not exclusive fly former JAL 787-8, they have aircraft delivered new from Boeing as well. The last two aircraft to join in 2023 came from Boeing directly to Zipair.
"Japan is so funny when it comes to technology — the country is simultaneously cutting edge, but also loves fax machines."
It is amusingly crazy.
It's a juxtaposition of some of the highest tech with mid-20th century levels of paper pushing and payment at times.
Its like China. You can use WeChat for EVERYTHING but airport staff are SHOCKED at trying to use a mobile ticket, when everyone still prints paper ones
JAMCO now makes plastic business class seats with no screen? Wow have they fallen.
Still better than American Airlines to HND.
"I wouldn’t hesitate recommending ZIPAIR’s full flat product to someone who doesn’t have miles & points, but who values comfort."
This is really the key! There are a lot of flyers who can't arrange miles/points flights (because of lack of miles/points or lack of schedule flexibility), don't need a luxurious soft product, but do want a reasonably comfortable hard product. Would love to see more airlines adopt a cabin system similar to this on more...
"I wouldn’t hesitate recommending ZIPAIR’s full flat product to someone who doesn’t have miles & points, but who values comfort."
This is really the key! There are a lot of flyers who can't arrange miles/points flights (because of lack of miles/points or lack of schedule flexibility), don't need a luxurious soft product, but do want a reasonably comfortable hard product. Would love to see more airlines adopt a cabin system similar to this on more routes (assuming the economics of it makes sense as it apparently does for ZIPAIR).
THIS!
The concept of this airline makes no sense - just not coherent at all. I also don't get the point of even offering a flat bad on such a short flight, although I can see this being useful long-haul *if" it is keenly priced otherwise there is no point in it.
I noticed that many airlines in Asia that does that route icn to nrt uses lay flat so zip would need to compete. Zipair also Flys from west coast usa to nrt.
Most of Zipair's routes are medium and long-haul (Seoul is the only short flight they operate).
Their other destinations include Manilla, Singapore and Bangkok, while all the other routes are to North America (at this moment).
I'm curious since you have to pay for the pillows and blanket amenity kits...would it be acceptable to take them with you after the flight and keep them?
Yes, since you bought them, you can take them and use them after the trip.
Their is a statement on their website:
“A variety of unique ZIPAIR amenities are available for purchase, featuring designs making them ideal for use both onboard the aircraft and on the ground.”
You may already noticed, the seat on ZIPAir is the lite version of JAMCO Venture seat (minus screen?), which is available on KLM 787-10 and you reviewed before.
https://onemileatatime.com/reviews/klm-business-class-boeing-787-10/
Did Lucky ever explain how he accessed the oneworld lounge in Seoul on this ticket?
Good question
One of the more obnoxious things Ben does on his blog is to present a persona of complete honesty with his readers and then hide details like this that would make him look bad rather than just coming clean.
He could have just bought a refundable ticket on a Oneworld airline from ICN and then cancelled and refunded his ticket once he got into the lounge.
I'm not going to lie, this is something I have done before to access new lounges.
@W If so, just be honest about it rather than ignoring reader questions. it's insulting to his readers that he thinks we won't notice.
Great review as always Ben. Perhaps the most intriguing since TAAG Angola for uniqueness….. however I have so many questions. What even offer the business class ? Is it because they take the planes second hand and don’t want to reconfigure? If so do they actually remove the tv screens ? How amazing they offer free WiFi when you pay in business class on other carriers! I’m guessing the lay down option is great for...
Great review as always Ben. Perhaps the most intriguing since TAAG Angola for uniqueness….. however I have so many questions. What even offer the business class ? Is it because they take the planes second hand and don’t want to reconfigure? If so do they actually remove the tv screens ? How amazing they offer free WiFi when you pay in business class on other carriers! I’m guessing the lay down option is great for a trip to Hawaii and finally if only they offered this on Ryan air lol.
Well, Ben took literally the shortest flight they offer. BKK, SIN, HNL are all a good 7-hour flight, where there is probably a market for older but frugal tourists happy to buy up to a flat bed (while packing all the creature comforts). These were custom-configured for ZIP, and the actual cost of providing wifi to a plane is nowhere near what airlines charge. I would not be surprised if the weight savings from no...
Well, Ben took literally the shortest flight they offer. BKK, SIN, HNL are all a good 7-hour flight, where there is probably a market for older but frugal tourists happy to buy up to a flat bed (while packing all the creature comforts). These were custom-configured for ZIP, and the actual cost of providing wifi to a plane is nowhere near what airlines charge. I would not be surprised if the weight savings from no tv is reasonably close to the actual cost of providing wifi -- especially when you factor in the cost of the actual screens and wiring.
I'm doing incheon to Tokyo as well later this year and I noticed zipair mainly because I was shocked at seeing a $199 ow business class seat pop up in my search. But once you add everything it's a bit more complicated to choose. For one thing, instead of zipair I opted for korean air business for $250. Price difference is gone once I include check bags and some food, lounge access etc. The biggest...
I'm doing incheon to Tokyo as well later this year and I noticed zipair mainly because I was shocked at seeing a $199 ow business class seat pop up in my search. But once you add everything it's a bit more complicated to choose. For one thing, instead of zipair I opted for korean air business for $250. Price difference is gone once I include check bags and some food, lounge access etc. The biggest concern for me is that zipair only has 1 flight/day on that route. That's not ideal for scheduling and operations. What is there was a maintenance issue etc.