@movernie
Many of my followers know how much I luv ZIPAIR. I have purchased and flown with ZIPAIR numerous times to Tokyo, Japan and every time it’s satisfactory and gets the job done.
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 proven airlines in the world.
As the popularity and demand for ZIPAIR continues to grow, ZIPAIR expanded its new route flying from Tokyo, Japan to Houston, Texas. This past August, I had decided to test out this new route with ZIPAIR flying from Tokyo, Japan to Houston, Texas.
As a disclaimer, for the record, this time, ZIPAIR had decided to collab with me and offered me with a complimentary one-way flight to Houston, Texas from Tokyo, Japan. They also surprised me by providing me with a ZIP Full-Flat seat so I can share my flight experience with my followers. I would like to use this opportunity to thank ZIPAIR for this kind surprise and gesture.
FYI – this marked my 1st time flying Full-Flat with ZIPAIR.
MoVernie FUN FACT: ZIPAIR likes to keep things simple. Every flight, they offer 2 flight options. Economy seat or Full-Flat.
Without further adieu, let me share with you my flight experience with ZIPAIR.
I took the special limited express train from Shibuya to Narita Airport. Please note that there are 2 different stations for the Narita Airport. There is a Terminal 1 and Terminal 2-3 station. Make sure to get off at Terminal 1 as ZIPAIR is located at Terminal 1. Of course, if you ended up at Terminal 2-3 station by mistake, no worries, you just need to get off and wait for the train to go back to Terminal 1.
Once you are at Terminal 1 train station, look for the trolley station and grab a trolley as it’s FREE. Put in your big luggage, carry-on or backpack. It will make your life easier by pushing the trolley.
You know how thoughtful the designers and engineering team at the Narita Airport? The escalator not only allow humans to stand, it also can take up your trolley, it’s a bit nerve wrecking at first fearing the trolley will slide down the escalator. Not to worry, the escalator is designed to allow the trolley to be tilted but will secure it from sliding down and will allow you to move up the floors accordingly.
As you can see my photo below, you will have a better picture of how this escalator is able to hold on to the trolley.
Since ZIPAIR counter is on the 4th floor, you will have to take a few escalators to get there, but it’s not so bad.
Once you reached the 4th floor, look for kiosks located around the airport. There are plenty of them. Now these kiosks aren’t just dedicated for ZIPAIR customers, some of these machines allow other airlines customers to check-in.
Look for an available kiosk that has the ZIPAIR logo and then do you usual check-in. I provided my passport for the machine to scan and then my travel INFO such as my first name, last name and you just need to verify if the destination is correct, your name is correct. Double check if everything is accurate and then the machine will print out your boarding pass.
Next up, look for the ZIPAIR counter on the same floor. If you couldn’t find it, look for ZIPAIR staff (most wearing ZIPAIR logo uniform). There usually is a short line, wait for your turn. The staff will look at your passport and your boarding pass to ensure you are lining up the right line.
Then, there is a weigh scale beside the staff. Since ZIPAIR is a low cost carrier, they have weight restrictions on your carry-on and personal item. Make sure you read the weight allowance from the ZIPAIR official website.
NOTE: The basic economy class has a very specific weight restriction allowance. However, at extra cost, you can pay for an additional package that allows you more weight allowance. ZIPAIR offers many different types of packages, including one that allows 15kg of a carry-on and a personal item (combined 15kg).
If your combined carry-on and personal item exceeds the basic weight restriction, the staff will kindly ask you to step aside and ask you to reduce the weight. You either throw out some garbage or unwanted items or wear it on your body or you allocate some items into your checked luggage instead. Anyhow, there isn’t much wiggle room. Trust me, I tried to ask the staff to give me mercy, they don’t budge, so it’s best you pack lighter or check your luggage at the hotel to ensure you meet the weight beforehand to avoid delay the airport trying to move around items.
Once your carry-on and personal item meets the weight restrictions, the friendly staff will wrap around a ZIPAIR sticker on your respective items so their staff will know that these bags have been weighted and inspected and are allowed to get onboard for your flight.
Now….what about your checked luggage. Well…next step is for you to step towards one of the machines, you place your checked luggage on the machine so it could weigh your luggage. Again, it should not exceed 66lb of weight. If it exceeds the weigh, the machine won’t work. The machine will scan your boarding pass so they know where this checked luggage is flying to. For me, the machine scanned and detected my checked luggage is heading to Houston, Texas.
Once the checked luggage is scanned and within the weigh restriction, the conveyor belt begins to move and will guide the checked luggage to the baggage belt to your plane.
Now, you can chill and walk towards the security check-point, the usual stuff by the airport control and you just need to get into the gate and wait to be boarded.
MoVernie TIP: Whenever I travel to Japan, I prefer to arrive at the airport early coz Japanese airports offer so many food and beverage options. Duty free options and shopping options that it motivates me to arrive early to chill and enjoy my airport experience in Japan. Asia airport hits different with so much more offerings.
My ZIPAIR flight from Tokyo to Houston is 10:30 AM Japanese boarding time and the flight # is ZG16.
I could see the ZIPAIR at the tarmac as the ground crew was loading up our luggage, replenishing food and beverages for purchase and also refuel the plane. I could see JAL supplies were being loaded onto the ZIPAIR plane as I mentioned prior, ZIPAIR is affiliated with JAL Airlines.
Now Boarding – ZIPAIR
One thing that I am also impressed with ZIPAIR is how orderly their processes when boarding its passengers. There are usually no chaos.
The ground crew will have signs indicating who is able to board first and next, etc.
As my memory serves me, people who are elderly, wheelchair access and with children were boarded first.
Since there are no Business Class or Premium Economy, there aren’t any priority boarding.
But since I was given a ZIP Full-Flat, I was one of the next group of people who can board early. My seat was 1A. Anyone with ZIP Full-Flat and have an alphabetical seat can board in the earlier group.
What’s interesting though, once the ZIP Full-Flat were boarded. The next group were passengers who had seats on the backend of the plane. Thus, anyone with Row 40+ got to board before those who had seats in the early economy rows. I think it makes sense as they want to board those who were situated at the back first and not blocking traffic.
ZIP Full-Flat
My seat is 1A which was the 1st seat on the left side of the front portion of the plane.
The seat was tilted at an angle towards the window, facing away from the inner cabin.
Lots of leg room and I could stretch my legs.
Plenty of storage bins and space to store my laptop, mobile devices, headphones, other personal items.
There was no TV screen which is a norm on all ZIPAIR planes.
FREE Wi-Fi on the plane and you can access your mobile to watch shows, go on social media, check emails and place order on food & beverages via ZIPAIR app.
Care Package:
ZIPAIR provided me with a care package.
Let’s unbox and show you what’s included in this care package.
In-Flight Meal:
Prior to my flight, ZIPAIR asked me what meal I would like to indulge on the flgiht. I chose the Unagi (eel) rice.
Overall Experience:
The direct flight from Tokyo, Japan to Houston, Texas was about 12.5 hours long but I felt very comfy and really enjoyed the ZIP Full-Flat coz it was very enjoyable. I got some sleep, it was nice and quiet. It really put in perspective of how much more comfort when I can stretch my legs, tilt my seat or move my body a bit within my space. It’s a big difference with just that much little more space can do when travelling by air.
Depending on the destination you are travelling with ZIPAIR, but based on my findings, ZIP Full-Flat usually cost about $1500-$2000 CDN depending on the month of the year, compared to other airlines flight options, ZIP Full-Flat is definitely way cheaper if not similar. For example, full flat-bed with Air Canada or West Jet can range upwards of $3000-$4000+ CDN, if it’s Premium Economy (not flat bed but wider space and more leg room), it’s about $2200-$2500+ CDN from the aforementioned airlines.
Basically, for similar pricing, you get a full flat-bed flying with ZIPAIR but you only get Premium Economy with Air Canada or WestJet.
Here is the thing, the ZIP Full-Flat doesn’t offer any complimentary in-flight meal or beverage. It also doesn’t come with a TV screen, but for people like myself who doesn’t really need to watch any movies on the TV screen, the ZIP Full-Flat is sufficient. I just need a seat that can recline, tilt, flat so I can sleep and stretch my legs.
If I want to watch any movies, I can use the FREE Wi-Fi via ZIPAIR app to watch my own mobile shows or social media. Better yet, I can pay to get food or beverage via the ZIPAIR app. Also, I usually prefer to buy food and drinks at the airport before boarding anyways, so it’s not a big deal not having in-flight meal.
Overall, I highly recommend ZIPAIR to anyone who is looking for a simplistic and a fair and cheap alternative flight option travelling from North America to Asia or vice-versa.
ZIPAIR – Tokyo-Narita International Airport (NRT):
Key Details:
Terminal: Terminal 1
Location: North Wing
Floor: 4th Floor
My flight experience travelling from Tokyo, Japan to Houston, Texas was provided by ZIPAIR. However, as always, the opinions expressed in this post is entirely my own.
