Spring Airlines Japan Bets On Post-Pandemic China Tourism Boom
- Japan is a popular pick for post-virus travel from Asia
- Debt-laden carrier seeks to expand routes to coastal China
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Spring Airlines Co. and Japan Airlines Co. are anticipating a post-pandemic tourism boom between China and Japan for their joint-owned budget carrier, even though Japan still lags behind major economies in reopening its borders.
Spring Airlines Japan Co. had operated seven routes from Narita to Shanghai, Tianjin, Nanjing, Wuhan and other cities, but five of them were suspended due to the virus. Even so, the carrier is eyeing new routes to Chinese coastal cities with populations of more than 10 million people, potentially by March 2024, Akira Yonezawa, Spring Japan’s new chief executive officer and former JAL executive, said in an interview.