| Translate This News In |
|---|
A local Japanese airline is attempting to fill vacant seats by giving Tokyo-based employees subscriptions that would allow them to relocate to a location over 900 kilometres (550 miles) away and go back and forth to the capital by air as often as they like.
In addition to limitless flights between Kitakyushu, where the airline is located, and Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, Star Flyer Inc. wants to launch a monthly subscription service that includes lodging in and around the southern city of Fukuoka on the island of Kyushu in the spring.
In order to draw in employees with families, the price would be in the range of 200,000 yen ($1,340) to 400,000 yen per month, which the carrier says would be comparable with rentals for big flats in the capital.
The regional carrier is staking its future on its ability to capitalise on the growing demand for remote labour as airlines, hotels, and merchants try to recover from the pandemic’s financial effects.
There have already been employment losses due to commuters staying at home due to Japan’s large train network, which has long reduced the attraction of short-distance domestic flights. According to information provided by office broker Miki Shoji Co., the pandemic has also caused office vacancy rates in the capital to reach an eight-year high of 6.5%.
The airline created the programme after Chairman Tomonori Yokoe, who assumed the position in June, requested fresh ideas from his staff. The service won out over 120 other submissions.
The sort of lodging that will be offered and whether the promotion is valid during peak travel times like New Year’s and other holidays when seats are generally fully booked are among the additional information that Star Flyer expects to make public later this year.
Japan Airlines Co. and ANA Holdings Inc. both say they will earn a profit this year as they look to capitalise on the island nation’s recent decision to reopen its borders to visitors. Star Flyer, on the other hand, has not yet provided profit forecasts despite reporting a net loss for three consecutive years. Additionally, the seat occupancy rate dropped from 75% three years ago to 53% in the most recent fiscal year that concluded on March 31.
Rents in the Fukuoka region are typically between one-third and fifty percent less than those in Tokyo, where, according to real estate site Lifull Co., the average monthly rent for an apartment in Shibuya in the city centre is 115,500 yen.
It is uncertain if moving almost two hours away to work would be acceptable to Tokyo-based employees. Just 20% of Japanese workers said they would leave their current jobs and seek employment elsewhere if required to come to the office five days a week, suggesting that they are less inclined to demand the freedom to work from home. Although living expenses are cheaper and people can afford bigger houses in Fukuoka, the airline is banking that there will be enough demand in the city.
