$333 flights to Tokyo on new Houston route from budget carrier Zipair

15.10.2024 - 19:55 / thepointsguy.com

There's a new way to get from the U.S. to Japan — and it's even quite affordable.

Japanese low-cost carrier Zipair announced last week that it would add flights from Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) to Tokyo's Narita International Airport (NRT) beginning March 4, 2025. The new four-times-weekly flights will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Zipair will deploy a 290-seat Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that features 18 lie-flat business-class pods and 272 standard economy seats on this route.

While you might not have heard about Zipair before, the carrier's inaugural fare sale will definitely catch your attention. The airline is offering round-trip flights from Houston to Tokyo for as low as $666, or $333 each way. Travelers must book flights by Nov. 30 to take advantage of the sale.

Note that as a low-cost carrier, Zipair charges additional fees for inflight meals, checked baggage, seat selection and more. But even after adding in all the ancillaries, it could be cheaper to fly to Japan with Zipair versus a major network carrier like All Nippon Airways or United Airlines.

Related: Zipair economy vs. business class to Japan: Is the budget carrier worth it?

Better yet, those looking for fancy lie-flat seats also will likely find Zipair's offering to be attractive. Introductory fares start at just under $1,500 each way — a fraction of what a lie-flat bed can cost on a competitor. Zipair's business-class product is comfortable — you get a lie-flat bed in a reverse herringbone configuration — but you need to pay for ancillaries, much in the same way that you would if flying in economy. True to its low-cost roots, you won't even find TVs at each seat (but there is free Wi-Fi).

Zipair's new Houston service will become the carrier's fifth transpacific route, joining service to Los Angeles; San Francisco; San Jose, California; and Vancouver, British Columbia. (Los Angeles was the carrier's first transpacific destination, and it launched back in late 2021.)

The new flight will depart Houston at 8:45 a.m. and land in Tokyo at 1:50 p.m. the following day, all times local. The return flight will depart Tokyo at 10 a.m. and land in Houston at 6:45 a.m. the same day.

Zipair is the low-cost subsidiary of Japan Airlines. ANA and United already fly from Houston to Tokyo, so this new route will allow Oneworld-affiliated Japan Airlines to compete on this 6,643-mile route. (In fact, this route will be the longest in the Zipair network.)

If you can stomach paying for all the ancillaries, this new route will certainly make it more affordable to get to Japan. And who knows, if ANA or United match these sale fares, then perhaps you could even fly one of the more established network carriers