Three airlines expand Japan routes as strong baht fuels Thai outbound travel
Three low-cost airlines launch new Japan routes for the high season as a stronger baht fuels Thai travellers’ overseas spending spree.
Thai AirAsia X
Pattra Boosarawongse, Chief Executive Officer of Thai AirAsia X, said the stronger baht during the fourth-quarter high season has encouraged more Thais to travel and spend abroad.
Combined with the festive year-end period, this has boosted the overall tourism atmosphere. Japan, she added, remains one of the most popular destinations among Thai travellers.
Thai AirAsia X (flight code XJ) is continuing to expand its Thailand–Japan network, with a new route from Bangkok (Don Mueang) to Sendai, operating four flights per week starting December 1, 2025.
It will be the only Thai carrier to operate this route, marking its fifth direct route to Japan after Tokyo, Osaka, Sapporo and Nagoya. The airline expects an average load factor of 90% in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, Thai AirAsia (flight code FD) currently operates two Japan routes — Bangkok to Fukuoka and Bangkok to Okinawa.
“The continuous launch of routes to Japan highlights AirAsia Group’s strength in offering an extensive network and high flight frequency. The group now operates the largest number of Thailand–Japan routes, totalling seven,” Pattra said.
Thai Lion Air
Aswin Yankirativorn, Chief Executive Officer of Thai Lion Air, announced that the airline is ready to expand its international network in the fourth quarter of 2025, launching four new routes to meet the growing travel demand and strengthen Thailand’s connectivity with key tourism and economic hubs across Asia.
The four new routes are as follows:
- Bangkok (Don Mueang) – Hokkaido (via Kaohsiung), starting December 1, 2025, operating three flights per week.
- Bangkok (Don Mueang) – Osaka (via Taipei), resuming service on 1 December 2025, with four flights per week.
- Bangkok (Don Mueang) – Chongqing (China), launching October 26, 2025, operating daily direct flights.
- Bangkok (Don Mueang) – Tianjin (China), launching October 27, 2025, operating four flights per week.
Thai Vietjet
Earlier, Pinyot Pibulsonggram, Deputy Chief Commercial Officer of Thai Vietjet, said that during the fourth quarter of this year, the airline will launch two new direct routes to Japan: Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi)–Osaka (Kansai), starting December 1, 2025, and Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi)–Tokyo (Narita), starting December 15, 2025. He noted that advance bookings have exceeded expectations, with strong demand since ticket sales began in July.
The launch of these two new routes to Japan in the fourth quarter complements the airline’s existing Chiang Mai–Osaka and Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi)–Fukuoka services. It is part of Thai Vietjet’s plan to open five new international routes in Q4 2025, connecting Thailand with Japan, South Korea — Seoul (from 1 October) — and India, with Kolkata starting in November and Ahmedabad in December.
However, over the past weekend, Thai Vietjet announced that its flight launch plans had been affected by the United States government shutdown, which has caused the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to suspend the issuance of new aircraft certifications.
As a result, the delivery of the airline’s new Boeing 737-8 aircraft has been delayed, forcing Thai Vietjet to postpone the launch of its direct flights to Tokyo (Narita) and Osaka from the original December 2025 schedule to mid-January 2026.
Passengers affected by the postponement who wish to travel on their original dates may transit via Taiwan for flights to Osaka or via Vietnam for flights to Tokyo. Alternatively, passengers may choose to reschedule or retain the value of their tickets as travel credits for future use.
Regardless of their choice, all affected passengers with bookings on the two routes will receive a gift voucher worth 2,000 baht from the airline.
Meanwhile, according to data from the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO), a total of 28,383,600 foreign tourists visited Japan during the first eight months of 2025 (January–August), an 18.2% increase year on year.
Thai tourists ranked sixth among international arrivals, with 764,600 visitors, up 8.2% compared to the same period last year. In August alone, 35,500 Thais visited Japan, marking a 2.4% increase from the same month last year.
The top five source markets for Japan in the first eight months of 2025 were:
- China – 6,711,600 visitors (+46.1%)
- South Korea – 6,123,100 (+5.4%)
- Taiwan – 4,509,700 (+9.6%)
- United States – 2,173,000 (+22.9%)
- Hong Kong – 1,673,200 (–7.1%)
