@movernie
Who are ZIPAIR?
ZIPAIR is a Japanese low-cost carrier offering a budget-friendly, customizable travel experience, flying routes to Asia and North America. This airline’s parent company is a subsidiary of Japan Airlines (JAL), a well-known and airline with a proven track record in the world.
My MoVernie Experiences:
I had flown with ZIPAIR many times in the past 3 years and I am confident to say that “I am a fan!”. ZIPAIR is legit, it’s reliable and overall, it helps me travel from North America to Japan in an economical way.
Pros of Flying with ZIPAIR:
– Cheap flights: There is no better to say it, it’s cheap flight is the major draw for me to take ZIPAIR. The economical seat is the cheapest I ever paid that gets me from Canada to Japan in a very economical fashion. I still remember back in 2024, I paid $320 all-in one-way direct flight flying from Vancouver, Canada to Tokyo, Japan. I still can’t believe it. It’s even cheaper flying to Japan than flying domestically within Canada. Crazy eh?
– Legit Airline: For the record, just coz a flight is super cheap, I don’t just take any plane. I have to research to ensure it’s not a scam, or hidden fees and I need the airline to have a safe record. Just coz it’s cheap but if it’s dangerous, I don’t care if it’s cheap, I wouldn’t take it. Once I realized ZIPAIR is a subsidiary with JAL Airlines, a proven safe airline, I have confidence and faith with ZIPAIR. And it’s true ZIPAIR is reliable and safe overall.
– Reliable: For all the ZIPAIR flights that I travelled with, it has not delayed or cancelled on me once. It’s on-time and the boarding and deplaning processes were satisfactory.
– New, Modern & Big Planes: Although I have never fly ZIPAIR in its Asia destinations, but as far as I had experienced flying with ZIPAIR to Vancouver or Houston, their planes are relatively new, modern, clean and they are using big planes such as Boeing 787 Dreamliner (3 seats x 3 seats x 3 seats in one row across).
– Checked Luggage Allowance is 66 lbs: Majority of North American airlines allow checked luggage to not exceed more than 50 lb per item. For ZIPAIR, the checked luggage allowance is a whopping 66 lb, which means, more reason for me to buy more gifts and souvenirs while I am visiting Japan. LOL
– Professional Japanese Pilots & Flight Attendants: Many of us know how hardworking and professional Japanese workers are in Japan, you will see that also applies when flying with ZIPAIR. Japanese pilots are skillful and fly their planes with their knowledge. Flight attendants constantly working hard. I have never seen them moving up & down so frequently to assist its passengers. Moreover, they always check the head bins whenever the plane takes off or about to land. They check to ensure the head bins are safely securely locked. I don’t really see that from other airlines flight attendants.
– Checked Luggage at Baggage Claim: For the record, so far, every time that I flew with ZIPAIR, my checked luggage is safe and sound. I could see it at the baggage claim. They have not lost my checked luggage yet.
Cons of Flying with ZIPAIR:
– Basic, Simple Flight Option: For anyone who is looking for luxurious travel, ZIPAIR may not be for them coz ZIPAIR offers basic, simple flight options for people such as myself who doesn’t need the bells and whistles but just want good value flight options that could safely fly me from point A to point B on-time. There are no business class, no first class, just 2 options: Economy or ZIP Full-Flat. I don’t know about you, but I just need a plane that doesn’t delay or cancel often. I rather fly with an airline who is reliable and don’t cancel or delay, coz I don’t care all the luxurious features if the plane don’t fly or fly on-time, what’s the use?
– You pay for every item you want on ZIPAIR: No food is included on ZIPAIR. You have to use its app to order every bottle of water, food, snack, etc. Which I don’t mind, coz I prefer to buy food at the Japanese airport before boarding. And if I am still hungry, I can always pay for beverages or snack on the plane using its FREE Wi-Fi app. I got option. And even if I have to pay every item, they are reasonable price.
– Very strict weight allowance restriction: The ONLY drawback about ZIPAIR would be its strict weight restriction on its personal item and carry-on. They will weigh every item of your belongings at the gate counter at the airport. If your item is over by 0.1kg, they still will ask you to take items out and relocate the weight distribution. Hey, they are strict but they do follow the guidelines to ensure everyone is fair and for plane safety reasons.
MoVernie TIP: You can always pay extra for checking your luggage or upgrade to allow your personal item and carry-on to have more weight allowance.
– Lack of on-line check-in app: Currently, I was told that only certain ZIPAIR destinations where you can download its ZIPAIR app to check-in online. Otherwise, you have to show up in-person to check-in at the gate with a hardcopy boarding pass. It is a bit odd that at this day and age that we can’t check-in online but let me reassure you that the check-in process in-person at the airport is smooth and efficient. There are hardly any long line ups. I was informed that eventually, every ZIPAIR flight will allow online check-in. We shall see in the near future.
– No TV Screens on all Seats: Again, ZIPAIR isn’t a luxurious airline, it offers a basic flight option bringing you from point A to point B. Thus, none of their seats (Economy or ZIP Full-Flat) offer any TV screens or entertainment. However, ZIPAIR does offer FREE Wi-Fi so you can access its online store to purchase snacks, food & drinks, duty-free items, care package, etc. You can use the FREE Wi-Fi to access your mobile devices to watch your pre-downloaded shows.
I don’t know about you, but I can live without a TV screen coz I don’t watch much movies. I rather look into my phone to view my photos and videos, utilize the down time to delete any files I don’t need to free my my phone storage space. Also, I rather sleep than watching any shows or listening to music.
– Pricey Checked Luggage: Each ZIPAIR flight doesn’t include any complimentary checked bag. Which means, you have to pay extra on every luggage you want to check-in. I recalled I paid $75 CDN for one checked luggage for my one-way flight. That’s a bit pricey but remember, they also allow 66 lb weight allowance vs 50 lb from other North America airline. Recently, I checked, the checked luggage costs over $100 CDN one-way, that’s insanely expensive. Anyhow, since the base fare was as low as $320 CDN one-way, even if I paid $75 CDN for a checked luggage, that total still far cheaper than any of its competitors. So, it’s still worth me to fly with ZIPAIR.
Overall Experience:
Well…the above are the pros and cons of my past ZIPAIR experiences. My feedback is based on my past ZIPAIR experiences. Opinions are my own. However, everyone may have different experiences and I would like to hear your ZIPAIR experience.
Overall, I like ZIPAIR, I think it’s a great airline to fly to Asia. If you are comparing different airlines, ZIPAIR is definitely should be one of your options to consider.
