ANA Low Cost Carriers Peach And Vanilla To Merge

Japanese airline ANA has announced plans to merge its two low-cost carriers, Peach Aviation and Vanilla Air, as it seeks to become the leading low cost carrier in the Asian region.

Integration of the two airlines is planned to start in the second half of the 2018 fiscal year, with completion set for the end of FY2019. The merged airline will retain the name Peach.

ANA said the merged airline will provide a foundation for route expansion and fleet growth at Osaka’s Kansai and Tokyo’s Narita airports.

Peach Aviation, based at Osaka’s Kansai Airport, launched in 2012 as Japan’s first low cost carrier. It flies to 15 domestic and 14 international routes with a fleet of 20 Airbus A320 aircraft.

Vanilla Air started flying the following year from Tokyo Narita Airport, and now operates 12 routes with a fleet of 14 Airbus A320s.

ANA sees the merged airlines expanding to over 50 aircraft flying more than 50 routes by 2020.