With increased interest in Japan from American tourists, a number of airlines have been competing for routes to both Tokyo and smaller cities such as Kyoto and Osaka.
At the start of the year, American Airlines (AAL) launched a new 14-hour NYC-Tokyo flight on a Boeing 777-20 (BA) while United Airlines (UAL) just dropped a 2025 flight schedule that includes several fifth-freedom flights through Tokyo — ones in which passengers from U.S. cities can either pay to get off in Japan or fly on to destinations such as Cebu in the Philippines and Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia.
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Locally, Japan Airlines (JPNRF) subsidiary Zipair Tokyo (often shortened to just Zipair) just announced a new route between Tokyo’s Narita Airport (NRT) and George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston that will run four times a week starting from March 4, 2025.
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This is how you can score that $350 flight to Tokyo
To promote the new route, the budget airline is offering a $333 to $350 rate for those who commit to 2025 travel by Nov. 30.
Similarly to other flights between the two cities, it will take 14 hours and run on a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with 18 lie-flat business class seats and 272 economy seats. The Zipair website has that rate for certain days of the week that the route is being run on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays (weekday departures are more likely to be discounted while the regular rate once the promotion is over will be approximately $600 each way.)
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“We look forward to welcoming new and seasoned travelers to take advantage of our fully customizable travel experience, including complimentary Wi-Fi service” Zipair President Shingo Nishida said in a statement.
Zipair, which the airline positions as something in between a full-service carrier and a low-cost one, already runs flights to Japan from Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose and Vancouver in Canada.
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‘Strengthen our business ties with Japan and the broader region’
Houston Mayor John Whitmire said that the route will help “strengthen business ties with Japan and the broader Asia-Pacific statement” as well as help bring some much-needed Japanese tourist dollars to the Texan city.
The Japanese airline, meanwhile, has set its sights on Houston for its rapid population growth (including a large number of new immigrants from the Asia-Pacific region who will be booking travel back home at some point) and status as a business hub.
“The new route between Houston and Tokyo will strengthen our business ties with Japan and the broader Asia-Pacific region,” Whitmire said in a statement. “It will also bring more visitors to experience Houston’s vibrant culture, world-class healthcare and diverse industries.”
Launching in 2020 at the height of the covid-19 pandemic, Zipair quickly built a strong customer base by offering flights to North America from Asian cities such as Tokyo but also Seoul, Singapore, Bangkok and Manila.
The promotional rate is being offered exclusively for the Tokyo-Houston routes, while flights to other U.S. cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco currently cost within the $600 rage as a base fare. As part of the Houston route sale, flights can be booked from March 2025 and through the end of the year.
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