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| Founded | 2002 | |||
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| Hubs | Kitakyushu Airport | |||
| Fleet size | 6 | |||
| Destinations | 2 | |||
| Parent company | Star Flyer Inc.TYO: 9206 | |||
| Headquarters | Kitakyūshū Airport Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan |
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| Key people | Shin'ichi Yonehara (President) | |||
| Website | www.starflyer.jp | |||
StarFlyer Inc. (株式会社スターフライヤー Kabushiki-gaisha Sutāfuraiyā) is a Japanese airline headquartered on the grounds of Kitakyushu Airport in Kokuraminami-ku, Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka Prefecture. It is modeled after JetBlue Airways as a "low-cost, high-quality" carrier aimed at business and leisure travelers. The airline began operations on March 16, 2006 and is one of very few in Japan to fly Airbus A320 aircraft. In June 2007 a codeshare agreement for the Haneda–Kitakyushu route began with All Nippon Airways which significantly boosted passenger numbers.
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StarFlyer was founded as Kobe Airlines (神戸航空 Kōbe Kōkū) on December 17, 2002 with the intention of being based at the new Kobe Airport. The company changed its name to StarFlyer in May 2003, and moved to Kitakyushu at the end of 2003.
StarFlyer was supported by local companies to provide a regular service initially from the Kitakyushu Airport to Tokyo International Airport (Haneda, HND) 12 times daily, including late evening and early morning flights to allow day returns for business trips and sightseeing. Once the Kitakyushu-Tokyo route is well established the airline plans to open routes to Shanghai, Beijing, and Seoul from Kitakyushu.
On August 17, 2005, StarFlyer announced a business agreement with All Nippon Airways, providing ANA support services for most StarFlyer aircraft and crews.
A booking center opened in Kokura on January 16, 2006. Seats for the first available flights sold out in five minutes confirming the popularity of the new venture especially among business travellers. Kitakyushu City is also requiring its employees to use the airline for all business trips to and from Tokyo.
From June 1, 2007 it began codesharing of its ten daily return flights of Kitakyushu-Tokyo with ANA.[1] The NHK Kitakyushu local news reported on July 10, 2007 that seat bookings had increased to about 70% capacity from 59% after the codesharing began. On November 1, 2008 it also started codesharing on the Kansai-Haneda route.
In April 2008 the company announced that it would begin charter flights to Seoul in July. The airline said it would evaluate the flights to consider whether to start regular service between the two cities (in the meantime, its call center handles reservations for Jeju Air on this route). In addition, it has also prepared to start charter service to Hong Kong.
The airline is headquartered in the StarFlyer Headquarters Building on the grounds of Kitakyūshū Airport in Kokuraminami-ku, Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka Prefecture.[2]
Previously the headquarters were in the Shin Kokura Building (新小倉ビル Shin Kokura Biru) in Kokura Kita-ku, Kitakyūshū.[3][4] In 2010 the airline announced that the headquarters will move to Kitakyushu Airport.[5]
Established on December 17, 2002. Starting capital: 1,822 million yen (as of May 2005), planned to increase to 3 billion yen by end 2005.
The current president is Shin'ichi Yonehara (米原 愼一 Yonehara Shin'ichi).[2] The second president was Takaaki Hori (堀 高明 Hori Takaaki).[3][4] The first president was the late Osako Shinobu, 1945–2005, former president of Zenrin and a driving force behind the New Kitakyushu Airport and the persuading of Isetan to come to Kokura in place of the failed Sogo Department Store.
As of June 2011, the StarFlyer fleet consists of 6 Airbus A320-200 aircraft with an average age of 3.6 years, each being equipped with 144 passenger seats in an all-economy class cabin layout:[6]
The first StarFlyer aircraft, City of Kitakyushu, arrived from Toulouse at the Tokyo International Airport on December 15, 2005. It was also the first aircraft to land at the New Kitakyushu Airport on February 8, 2006.
Although the A320 usually accommodates 180 passengers in one-class layout, StarFlyer's aircraft are fitted with only 144 seats for greater passenger legroom and comfort. The seat pitch is the largest[7] of any economy class, at 36 inches.[8] Each passenger has a personal LCD monitor offering in-flight television, as well as powerports for notebook computers. StarFlyer plans to offer in-flight Internet service in the future. The Star Flyer A320 fleet is leased from GECAS and AWAS[9].
The company's livery is black and white, designed by Flower Robotics Inc. of Shibuya, Tokyo.
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