ZipAir review (Narita, Japan ⇔ Honolulu, Hawaii)

ZipAir is the new(ish) budget airline from parent company JAL! My experiences with JAL in the past have always been extremely positive, especially on the customer service side, but definitely had a little bit of cost attached, so we were definitely interested to see what this new airline had to offer.

We used ZipAir for two round trip flights between Narita International Airport NRT (Tokyo, Japan) and the Daniel K Inouye International Airport HNL (Honolulu, Oahu, HI) in June 2022 and August 2022.

tl;dr - It was adequate, not super special, but you definitely get what you pay for. It's worth trying if you're on a budget and don't mind the slightly cramped leg room (which is typical in the cheapest economy for most airlines).

What you should know before you book

NOTE - Both trips we took were while Japan was still closed to most tourism and COVID-19 protocols were still in place (negative test required to enter Japan, attestation for vaccination to enter the US etc).

Two seat classes - standard and lay flat, with a difference of about 100,000yen between the two (varies depending on flight)

Flight packages - 

Value: what you'll get from a typical non-budget airline - select your seat, 1 in-flight meal and 23kg (50lb) check in bag(s) 

Biz: select your seat, 1 carry-on + personal item (weighing no more than 12 kg/26lbs together) 

Premium: select your seat, 1 in-flight meal, 23kg (50lb) check in bag(s), 12kg max carry-ons, amenity set

Ala carte/custom: select your own upgrades

Meal selections are made at the time of your (online) booking. You're presented with a decent number of options (including halal and vegan indicators) with pictures and prices. The 1200yen meals are included as part of the in-flight package and any more expensive meals with have an additional cost. You can order as many meals as you want (with associated costs). 

Checking in

We were unable to use the automatic check-in feature because we were flying during active COVID restrictions that required airlines manual approval at the check-in counter, so unfortunately I cannot comment on that particular service. It does seem like it would be useful when possible, because there was a long, slow-moving line for check-in for every flight. We waited a minimum of 1 hour in line for each of the 4 flights, even with us getting to the airport 4 hours early for 2 of the flights and joining the growing line before the desk was even open. It's just...not fast. I'm not 100% sure how much of that is contributed to COVID and how much is other things. I will say that regular JAL check-in during the pandemic is still quite efficient (almost never a line and usually takes 10-15 minutes max, if that).

Expect that all of your bags will be weighed, including your carry-on & personal item (together should not exceed 12kg), and for the weight restriction to be strictly enforced. While you can add "upgrades" like additional baggage weight at the counter at check-in, it is highly encouraged to pay for your upgrade beforehand online. 

[Edit 11/14/2022 - forgot to add this earlier but remembered after using HA to fly back and forth] On the US side, you cannot get TSA Pre-check even if you are eligible. According to the ZipAir employee who was checking us in, their system is not connected to whatever acknowledges Pre-check status, so the known traveler number is useless. You'll have to go through the standard boarding pass security screening (taking off shoes and outerwear, removing electronics, 3-1-1 bag, etc) which often has a longer and slower line. This contributes to how much time you need at the airport and just a general convenience factor (if you are someone who has/pays for Pre-check status).

On the plane/during flight

Boarding was all fairly standard/nothing of note; everything was orderly and nothing unusual. We were able to find our seats with no issues and stow our carry-on bags in the overhead compartments. The space between rows/leg room is a bit small and the seats are not very robust with cushioning or sturdiness. That being said, we were more or less OK being only 2 people in a 3 person row. I'm anticipating that having empty seats will be more rare as travel increases to/from Japan. It would be a bit uncomfortable to sit that close to a stranger for so long where any movement kind of affects the whole row of seats and be barely able to recline or reach down towards the bag I store under the seat in front. 

There are charging ports for every seat and no provided screens. There is free in-flight wifi which works reasonably well based on my husband's experience (able to watch YouTube videos, for example) and a little fold down tray with a cup holder space.

Over the 4 flights, my husband tried a variety of meals. I actually opted to eat beforehand (and sleep on the flight) or bring my own food even though we got a package that came with a meal for me (my husband ate it). He particularly liked the omurice dish, but all the rest were the same meh airplane food you'd expect. The meals do not come with sides (other than what's in the box/description) but do include a small bottle of water.

A friend told us you're not really supposed to bring your own food onto the plane (to eat), but I couldn't find any rules about that and none of the staff mentioned anything to me, even when taking my trash, so it seems like that may be an option. 

From what I could gather based on barely overhearing a conversation from another passenger across the aisle, it seems like you cannot do on demand orders of all food items mid-flight. I don't think they keep all options available on the plane but may have a few extras of the popular meals (like gyudon). I would strongly recommend ordering a meal when booking if you want to be guaranteed food during the flight. 

Food - 7/10 comparing to other airline-provided food. I took my husband's rating for this one because I didn't eat any of the food. Note that the meals do not come with sides although it does come with a small bottle of water.

Comfort - 5/10 While it wasn't straight up uncomfortable, I certainly wouldn't consider it comfortable by any measure either, so that's why I feel like a middle of the road 5 makes sense. The seats were not very cushy and there was less space between rows than I was accustomed to. They were fine but not great for a 8 hour flight. 

Service - 6/10 There was nothing particularly stellar that we noticed about the attentiveness or service on the plane but it was certainly adequate. We don't ever really hit the call button, so we didn't interact much with them. Unlike Hawaiian Airlines flights, it doesn't seem like they occasionally offer water while walking down the aisle every hour or so, but I'm sure you would be provided some if requested (not sure if there would be a cost). Check in at the counter is very slow (not sure how much COVID factors in). ZipAir is also currently only operating out of Narita in Japan. Haneda is a lot more convenient for us, but that could vary from person to person and where your ultimate destination is once arriving. Also, ZipAir's system does not allow for TSA Pre-check (used on the US side) which makes the time required at the airport and waiting in lines even longer. 

Cleanliness - 8/10 Even though this is considered a new airlines, it seems like they're just using older JAL planes(?) so the planes themselves are not super modern or sparkly. That being said, there weren't really any issues with things feeling dirty or unsanitary beyond what you usually get with a plane.

Price - 10/10 Due to the exchange rate and the timing of our flights (not a popular season to travel), we were able to get round trip tickets from Japan to Hawaii for about $500 each including the Value package (pick your seat, 1x meal and 1x 23kg bag each). Other airlines at that same time with similar features would have cost $900-1000+. 

Overall - ★★★1/2 3.5/5 stars We would definitely consider flying ZipAir again if we were being budget conscious, and the price differential was similar to our choices this past summer and especially if we didn't need to check in any bags. We would be booking knowing that in exchange for the much cheaper price, we will likely have a bit less comfort and longer check-in times. For personal reasons, we'd consider it a lot more if they operated out of Haneda since Narita is comparatively a lot farther for us. 

Unfortunately I didn't think to write a full review ahead of our travel so I don't have the best photos to accompany this, but hopefully this short post will be useful if you're on the fence about booking with ZipAir. If you have any additional questions about our experience, I'll do my best to answer them!