Low-cost carrier (LCC) Peach Aviation (Osaka Prefecture) will commence a Memanbetsu – Kansai (Osaka) flight starting on July 1. This will be the first regular LCC flight connecting Eastern Hokkaido’s Okhotsk region to Kansai. One flight departing from each location will operate per day.

The schedule plan is for a flight for Memanbetsu to depart from Kansai at 9:10 a.m., and for a flight to Kansai to depart from Memanbetsu at 11:55 a.m. Airfare will be from 5,490 yen to 35,990 yen for a one-way flight. Tickets started selling on April 14. This will be the second LCC flight to Memanbetsu, following the Peach Narita flight that started in February of this year. Currently, service connecting Memanbetsu and Kansai is offered by All Nippon Airways (ANA) in the summer.

LCC flights are popular for their inexpensive airfare, and having them operate year-round is expected to boost an increase in traffic to and from the Kansai area. Chairperson Ozawa of the Okhotsk Kankou Renmei (a tourism association) welcomed the service, saying, “This will bring even more people from Kansai to the Okhotsk area.” The city of Abashiri also chimed in, “We hope this will have a synergistic effect combined with the Narita flight, and also stimulate region economy.” The Abashiri city government plans on partnering with local government in the area to consider support measures tailored to the flight service.