Airlines get creative to bring back demand

Border restrictions that are part of the pandemic response in Japan have deterred most tourists from visiting the country. So one airline is taking an unusual approach to generate revenue by offering extreme discounts on domestic flights.

Peach Aviation said this week that it would sell 150 unlimited passes to passengers 12 and older with valid photo identification giving a month of access to the budget carrier’s 33 domestic flights. It said it was catering especially to digital nomads in Japan who are working remotely and looking for “workcations” in places they haven’t been after months of travel restrictions.

On Tuesday, the first 30 buyers would be able to buy a pass for as little as $173. (In comparison, a 21-day Japan Rail Pass costs $583.) For $87 more, they would get to reserve their seats and bring along a checked bag. Fares for the remaining 120 passes would cost $87 more.

Budget airlines in South Korea, also trying to drum up demand for domestic flights, have offered similarly steep discounted tickets. T’way Air, a South Korean budget carrier, has sought new streams of revenue by selling its bacon tomato spaghetti, hamburger steak over rice and other in-flight meals to customers on the ground.

Its microwaveable meals are designed to “remind customers of the happiness and excitement they felt when travelling by plane,” said the listings on Coupang, the country’s largest online shopping site.

While one airline will sell 150 unlimited passes to passengers 12 and older, another has sought new streams of revenue by selling its bacon-tomato spaghetti, hamburger steak over rice & other in-flight meals to customers on the ground