Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
The city of Amakusa in Kumamoto Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan has the regional airline with only one aircraft worth 649 million yen (6.5 million US Dollars) in assets but it has achieved a net profit of 55 million yen (estimated 754,000 Singapore Dollars) in 2018. This airline is Amakusa Airlines, one of the smallest regional airlines in the world.
Amakusa Airlines began operations in 2000. Among the company's shareholders, the Kumamoto Prefecture government accounts a 53.31 per cent stake in the airline while Aoba City in Kumamoto Prefecture has a stake of 26.85 per cent in the veritable “local state-owned enterprise”.
Amakusa Airlines has only 58 employees as of 30 July 2019. Operating a regional aircraft for almost 20 years with the safe record, their sales have reaped the net profit of 754,000 Singapore Dollars. It is not easy to achieve such results.
In the early days of the airline's operations, because Kyushu Electric Power was building the new power plant in Amakusa, there were transportation needs for the construction of the project. Amakusa Airlines' Fukuoka to Amakusa route operated by its DASH8-1000 aircraft carried more than 67,000 passengers and had a good 80 per cent load rate. However, after the completion of the project in 2003, the population of Amakusa was only 84,000. The passenger air traffic capacity was reduced, and the full load rate was only 60 per cent. It is difficult to obtain new finances from banks by 2007, and it needs to be subsidized by local governments.
In 2009, Oshima, the former director of the JAL Aircraft Maintenance Plant, took over as the general manager of the company. He proposed a number of reform measures. In order to unite the employees' efforts, each month once, the company's employees will clean the aircraft before the first flight. After the reform, the company had achieved profit.
Although there are only three routes and the aircraft is small, Amakusa Airlines is able to maintain a stable passenger capacity by relying on this kind of centripetal force and the perseverance of the local tourism industry.
There are five flight attendants among Amakusa Airlines' 58 employees. Due to the small number of employees, the flight attendants also need to work part-time in the cabin of the aircraft. The management staff will support the ground work operations before and during the flight. The general manager will even personally assist in luggage transfers to the carousels.
In February 2016, the DASH8-100 aircraft operated by Amakusa Airlines was replaced by the ATR 42-600. The ATR 42 is similar in size to the DASH8 but the number of seats after the ATR was changed from 39 to 48. The "large" capacity has increased and the cruising speed of the aircraft has increased by 10 per cent. At present, the one-way fare for the short-haul route from Amakusa to Fukuoka is 11,200 Yen, which is about 141 Singapore Dollars.
The relationship between Amakusa Airlines' sole ATR 42 and Chinese technology is very close. China's Xifei is the sole supplier of the wing box and rear fuselage section of the ATR 42.
Amakusa Airlines pays special attention to communication and promotion with customers. For example, the painting and naming of the aircraft is the result of fully seeking the opinions of the passengers. The company even has a range of cultural and creative products for sale at Amakusa airport and onboard.
The weekly inflight bulletin issued onboard by Amakusa Airlines has been promoting the local tourism industry.
In June 2010, the TV presenter who served as a director of Amakusa Airlines suggested to the company to set up a Facebook page. Unlike the general airlines that operate social media by the public relations department, many of the usual work and activity notes in the company are freely written and posted on Facebook by employees across all departments.
Amakusa Airlines also publishes weekly reports, which focus on sightseeing spots around the recommended routes and questions and answers about interaction with passengers.
It can be seen that although the Amakusa Airlines team is small, it stands close to the heart of the customer. Devotion is the benchmark of the flight operations. The airline can continue to earn profits to achieve long-term development and give great encouragement to the start-up carriers in the aviation industry.
Amakusa Airlines flies daily from Amakusa to Fukuoka, Kumamoto and Osaka Itami.
/ KUCINTA SETIA
The city of Amakusa in Kumamoto Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan has the regional airline with only one aircraft worth 649 million yen (6.5 million US Dollars) in assets but it has achieved a net profit of 55 million yen (estimated 754,000 Singapore Dollars) in 2018. This airline is Amakusa Airlines, one of the smallest regional airlines in the world.
Amakusa Airlines began operations in 2000. Among the company's shareholders, the Kumamoto Prefecture government accounts a 53.31 per cent stake in the airline while Aoba City in Kumamoto Prefecture has a stake of 26.85 per cent in the veritable “local state-owned enterprise”.
Amakusa Airlines has only 58 employees as of 30 July 2019. Operating a regional aircraft for almost 20 years with the safe record, their sales have reaped the net profit of 754,000 Singapore Dollars. It is not easy to achieve such results.
In the early days of the airline's operations, because Kyushu Electric Power was building the new power plant in Amakusa, there were transportation needs for the construction of the project. Amakusa Airlines' Fukuoka to Amakusa route operated by its DASH8-1000 aircraft carried more than 67,000 passengers and had a good 80 per cent load rate. However, after the completion of the project in 2003, the population of Amakusa was only 84,000. The passenger air traffic capacity was reduced, and the full load rate was only 60 per cent. It is difficult to obtain new finances from banks by 2007, and it needs to be subsidized by local governments.
In 2009, Oshima, the former director of the JAL Aircraft Maintenance Plant, took over as the general manager of the company. He proposed a number of reform measures. In order to unite the employees' efforts, each month once, the company's employees will clean the aircraft before the first flight. After the reform, the company had achieved profit.
Although there are only three routes and the aircraft is small, Amakusa Airlines is able to maintain a stable passenger capacity by relying on this kind of centripetal force and the perseverance of the local tourism industry.
There are five flight attendants among Amakusa Airlines' 58 employees. Due to the small number of employees, the flight attendants also need to work part-time in the cabin of the aircraft. The management staff will support the ground work operations before and during the flight. The general manager will even personally assist in luggage transfers to the carousels.
In February 2016, the DASH8-100 aircraft operated by Amakusa Airlines was replaced by the ATR 42-600. The ATR 42 is similar in size to the DASH8 but the number of seats after the ATR was changed from 39 to 48. The "large" capacity has increased and the cruising speed of the aircraft has increased by 10 per cent. At present, the one-way fare for the short-haul route from Amakusa to Fukuoka is 11,200 Yen, which is about 141 Singapore Dollars.
The relationship between Amakusa Airlines' sole ATR 42 and Chinese technology is very close. China's Xifei is the sole supplier of the wing box and rear fuselage section of the ATR 42.
Amakusa Airlines pays special attention to communication and promotion with customers. For example, the painting and naming of the aircraft is the result of fully seeking the opinions of the passengers. The company even has a range of cultural and creative products for sale at Amakusa airport and onboard.
The weekly inflight bulletin issued onboard by Amakusa Airlines has been promoting the local tourism industry.
In June 2010, the TV presenter who served as a director of Amakusa Airlines suggested to the company to set up a Facebook page. Unlike the general airlines that operate social media by the public relations department, many of the usual work and activity notes in the company are freely written and posted on Facebook by employees across all departments.
Amakusa Airlines also publishes weekly reports, which focus on sightseeing spots around the recommended routes and questions and answers about interaction with passengers.
It can be seen that although the Amakusa Airlines team is small, it stands close to the heart of the customer. Devotion is the benchmark of the flight operations. The airline can continue to earn profits to achieve long-term development and give great encouragement to the start-up carriers in the aviation industry.
Amakusa Airlines flies daily from Amakusa to Fukuoka, Kumamoto and Osaka Itami.
Nice writeup on Amakusa Airlines.
ReplyDeleteDidn't know they had only 1 ATR aircraft in operation.