Vanilla Air ceased flight operations and was fully integrated with Peach on Saturday, October 26, 2019. Peach and Vanilla Air had been preparing for this integration since the announcement was made in March 2018. All employees of Vanilla Air, including those who worked until the end of its operation and those who already started working for Peach in phases, are now transferred to Peach*, and Peach will operate as a new company starting today, November 1, 2019.
After integration, Peach will be the third largest airline and No.1 LCC in Japan** in terms of number of passengers carried each year. With safety as the top priority, Peach continues to develop potential demand and hopes to become Asia's leading LCC that provides new values to the people in Japan as well as Asia.
Peach has been the leading LCC in Japan with its stable flight quality and various innovative initiatives. Vanilla Air has been expanding its flight network with a steady demand in the Tokyo metropolitan area. The integration of Peach and Vanilla Air will combine the strength of both companies and allow Peach to be more competitive not only in Japan but also in the Asian market. Peach will continue to value the unique corporate culture that was developed at Vanilla Air as well as its own. Its goal is to become the leading LCC in Asia as it grows and creates new values for society.
Company Outline after the Integration (as of November 1, 2019)
- Company Name: Peach Aviation Limited
- Representative Director and CEO: Shinichi Inoue
- Number of Employees: 1,649 (excluding temporary and transferred employees)
- Number of Routes: 19 domestic and 18 international routes (total of 37) ***
- Number of Cities Served: 14 domestic and 7 international cities
- Number and Type of Aircraft Used: 28 ****, Airbus A320-200
- Annual Number of Passengers Carried: Approximately 8,150,000 *****
Note:
* Excludes some employees who are involved in the work related to the termination of Vanilla Air's operation.
** Based on the total number of passengers (domestic and international) carried by Peach and Vanilla Air in Fiscal Year 2018.
*** Peach will service 21 domestic and 19 international routes with a total of 40 routes before the end of the year when it starts servicing 3 routes that used to be operated by Vanilla Air: between Fukuoka and Taipei (Taoyuan), Tokyo (Narita) and Ishigaki, and Osaka (Kansai) and Amami.
**** Twelve of the fifteen aircraft owned by Vanilla Air will be converted and flown by Peach. (Three of those aircraft are already being flown as Peach aircraft.)
***** Total number of passengers carried by Peach and Vanilla Air in Fiscal Year 2018 (Approximately 5,517,000 for Peach and approximately 2,635,000 for Vanilla Air)