At the end of every year, my family spends most of our time in Japan. We would fly from Singapore as a family to spend the holiday season with our family who lives in Tokyo.
This is a tradition we have kept for many years. We usually fly Japan Airlines (JAL) overnight to Haneda for this annual trip. Before COVID, this flight would reliably cost us about S$800-900 per person.
But in 2023, after Japan finally opened up from its COVID lockdown, there was a record-level renewed interest in visiting Japan – especially from Singapore. This high demand drove the price of flights to Japan by multiple folds and we could no longer justify flying our usual flights.
That’s when I learned about ZIPAIR and decided to give it a try. While I’m not usually one to fly low cost carrier for flights over 4 hours, the price was too attractive.
For comparison sake, if we had flown our usual flight with JAL on the same dates, it would have cost us S$5,000 for two adults and a 4-year-old child for a roundtrip from Singapore to Tokyo.
With ZIPAIR, we only paid S$1,500 TOTAL for the three of us! This includes a round-trip ticket with paid amenities of two checked-in bags at 30 kg each, three meals on one of the legs, and extra legroom seats for all three of us, making it a nearly identical experience to flying the full-service carriers.
So, was it worth it? Let’s go into more detail about what it was like to fly the ZIPAIR flight from Singapore to Tokyo. Here are a few topics I will cover:
- What is ZIPAIR?
- My experience on the ZIPAIR flight from Singapore to Tokyo
- ZIPAIR Schedule and Flight Release
- Booking ZIPAIR
- Flight Check-in
- Inflight Experiences and Amenities
- Pre-booked hot meals
- Types of Seating on ZIPAIR
- Tips for flying with ZIPAIR and what to pack
- Conclusion: Is ZIPAIR worth it?
What is ZIPAIR?
ZIPAIR is a relatively new airline, a subsidiary of Japan Airlines (JAL). First launched in 2020, ZIPAIR offers similar Japanese hospitality you can expect on full service JAL flights but at a much lower cost, because you only pay what you want. At an additional cost, you could still enjoy the same amenities as when you fly full-service economy class – such as inflight meals, snack, drinks, blanket, check-in bags.
Lastly, I want to note that ZIPAIR currently only flies to Narita Airport, which is a bummer as Narita is much further away from Tokyo than Haneda.
As we were traveling with a young child and plenty of luggage and our accommodation was not near a subway station, we ordered a private car transfer to reach Tokyo which cost us an extra S$150 one way. But, even then, it’s still much cheaper than flying full-service carriers!
If you do not want to order a private car, make sure to check out the Keisei Skyliner route or the Narita Express (N’EX) and see if your accommodation can be easily reached from there.
My experience on the ZIPAIR flight from Singapore to Tokyo
Having flown ZIPAIR on my most recent flight to Tokyo (and then back to Singapore), here are things I noticed throughout the experience, from booking to taking the flight to landing:
1. ZIPAIR Schedule and Flight Release
Flight Schedule – ZIPAIR currently only flies one flight daily between Singapore and Narita Airport. This was a bummer as there is no flexibility in terms of the timing of the flight. As of 2024, the flight schedule for Singapore to Narita is as follows:
| SIN to NRT | 00:40 AM – 08:25 AM |
| NRT to SIN | 4:40 PM – 11:10 PM |
Parents will immediately notice that these timings are ideal for young children, but we sucked it up and took it anyways. I have to tell you, my son was already 4 years old when we took that flight but the midnight flight was still rough. We were so tired when we arrived in Narita in the morning since we could not sleep on the plane until almost 3 AM.
Schedule Release – When does ZIPAIR release its flight schedule? Well, speaking from experience, ZIPAIR releases its schedule per season for each route. There is no specific time for this, so if you’re booking for the next season then all you can do is pay attention to the notification page. And again from experience, it is usually released in bulk about 1.5 to 2 months before the start of the new season.
Here is an example of the announcement when they released the schedule for the Singapore route Winter 2023 schedule.
2. Booking ZIPAIR
Flight Package and Optional Services (Amenities) – While booking your flight, you will be asked to select the flight package:
If you are keen on all the benefits included in the package, then you can go ahead and add the package. However, you will also be able to add them separately later on as Optional Services. Here are the prices:
- ZIPAIR Express Services (S$29.05) – Priority Check-in at the airport
- Amenity Set (S$24.20) – Includes blanket, slippers, eye mask, neck pillow, ear plug
- Inflight Meal – Ranges from S$13-28 depending on the dish you chose
Here are the fees for selecting seats:
- Extra legroom: S$48.00
- Window or aisle near the front: S$18.00
- Middle seat: S$13.00
- Window or aisle near the back: S$16.00
- Not able to recline: S$4.00
And here is the baggage fees:
- Baggage Check-in (30KG): S$51.00/piece
- Sports Equipment: S$72.00 – 109.00 per piece depending on the size
Given the fees, the price of the packages is justified. However, if you’re traveling as a family with small children, you might not want to select the package for everyone since your children might not need their own check-in baggage.
3. Flight Check-in
The check-in experience at Changi Airport was very smooth. ZIPAIR Check-in desk at Changi is located at Terminal 1. We arrived 2 hours before our flight and though there was a queue forming, we only spent about 15 minutes in the queue.
As we have prepaid our check-in baggage, the luggage processing was immediate. We also brought 3 check-in bags (one per person) but they did not check or weigh our bags.
On the way back to Singapore from Narita Airport, the check in was equally smooth. There is a machine that will print your boarding pass, but we ran into issues with the baggage self check in. They also weighed our carry on this time.
4. Inflight Experiences and Amenities
Being a low-cost carrier, there were no free amenities on the flight unless you had paid for it when you booked the flight. However, there was FREE Wifi (!!) and limited entertainment.
Let’s dig more into them!
Free Wifi – YES! A budget airline that comes with inflight wifi at no additional cost? I am in heaven. In my experience though, the wifi was spotty. It is good for messaging and light browsing. Sometimes, I can’t load anything at all. However, I don’t think this was specific experience to ZIPAIR. It was consistent with my experience with inflight wifi on Singapore Airlines. Inflight Wifi relies on satellites, so the connectivity highly depends on the location of the plane when you’re trying to access wifi.
Inflight Food and Drinks Menu – Yes, ZIPAIR does offer meals, snacks, and drinks for purchase during the flight. Everything can be either ordered when you book your ticket, or inflight through the web app that you can access by scanning a QR code on board. The inflight menu is available about 1-1.5 hours after take-off. I have to say, I was quite impressed with the menu. It was very sensibly priced. A 500ml bottle of water costs ¥250 or S$2, which is comparable to the price in convenience stores in Singapore and Japan.
I do have to warn you that the meals are limited in quantity and some of them sold out halfway through the flight.
Inflight Shopping – There are a few items available onboard that you can purchase, such as neck pillows, blankets, sanitary napkins, etc.
Inflight Entertainment – Similar to the inflight menu, entertainment can be accessed through the web app. You do need to access them from your own device though, so bring an iPad or tablet if you want an extra screen to watch the movies. You will also need to bring your earphones or headphones for sound.
Charging Port / Power Outlet – YES, there is a charging port on the plane! I did not notice them until the end of my return leg back to Singapore because of the extra legroom seats. For these seats, the charging port is located BELOW the seat and I did not see it. Anyway, the charging port consists of one USB charge and one universal plug.
5. Pre-booked hot meals
On my way back to Singapore, I pre-booked some meals for us since we were flying from 5 PM to midnight. I booked the Pork Katsudon, Gyudon, and a cold soba.
ZIPAIR is a subsidiary of JAL, so I expected the meal to be at the level of JAL. However, the meals that I received were… let’s just say, all of them left much (MUCH) to be desired, both in terms of presentation and taste.
Gyudon is a dish that is difficult to mess up. Even a home cook like myself regularly makes this dish at home so I thought it was a safe choice. But somehow, messed it up they did. The sauce for the gyudon was thick, as if they added too much cornstarch, and it was too overly sweet. The rice that came with also had a weird mushy texture.
I had a bite of the pork tonkatsu, which suffers the same fate of having sauce that are too thick and sickly sweet. The soba was probably the most okay out of the three.
If I fly ZIPAIR again next time, I’ll pack my own meal from the konbini or eat before the flight at Narita Airport, because I just can’t fathom eating those dishes again.
6. Types of Seating on ZIPAIR
Extra Legroom Seats (Row 18) – Since the flight was already significantly cheaper than a full-cost carrier, I decided to “splurge” by getting extra legroom seats at Row 18. My husband is tall, so he suffers the most onboard low-cost carriers. I figured it would be worth it. And, it was not much of a splurge, to be honest – it only costs S$48 per person to book that row.
Overall, we were happy with the seat, but it’s worth noting that the armrests on most of these seats are fixed. It was not ideal for my son since he would want to lie his head on my lap to sleep.
However, the first two extra legroom seats in the middle (seats D and E, to be exact) DO have armrests you can lift. I booked these seats by chance on the flight back to Singapore, and having the moveable armrest really helped my son sleep.
ZIP Full-flat seat – For most people, this is what truly separates ZIPAIR from other low-cost carriers. ZIPAIR doesn’t have a business class, but they have seats that can lie flat just like a business class seat would. And they cost the same or even less than flying economy at a full-service airline. If you are not flying with a child, I highly suggest the full-flat seats. The fully reclining seat will allow you full comfort on the overnight leg to Tokyo! I was keen to book this, but we couldn’t since my son is too young. Only children 7 years old and above can enjoy the ZIP Full-flat seat.
Tips for flying with ZIPAIR and what to pack
Here are some items that I would do and bring on the next flight with ZIPAIR:
- Snacks for my son – Yes, there was an inflight service where we could have ordered reasonably-priced snacks, but there was not much that my son would like from the menu. Also, the inflight services became available only about 1-1.5 hours after take off. On the overnight flight, this means the inflight service wasn’t available until about 2 AM.
- A tablet and headphones – There is no dedicated screen for inflight entertainment, but there are a few movies you can watch on your device.
- Bring your own entertainment – The inflight entertainment option was quite scarce, so I would recommend downloading your favorite shows through your favorite streaming app.
- Extra blanket or scarf – It gets pretty chilly on the plane, so dress appropriately and bring extra layers if you aren’t planning to buy the amenities set.
Conclusion: Is ZIPAIR worth it?
Yes, absolutely! If you’re cost-conscious, I truly believe ZIPAIR is one of the best ways to travel to Tokyo at the moment.
Of course, it has its pros and cons, which I have gone into details in this post but for your convenience, I will summarize below:
- Pros: Cost-effective, comfortable seats, reasonable inflight amenities pricing, reasonable luggage fees, free wifi, charging port.
- Cons: Flies only to Narita Airport, inflight meals left a lot to be desired, only one flight per day on the Singapore <> Tokyo route, no inflight screens for entertainment.
All things considered, for me, the pros of ZIPAIR greatly outweigh the cons. Especially in terms of cost – I was certainly not prepared to pay the eye-watering price of S$5,000 that the full-service airlines were asking for, vs the S$1,500 I ended up paying for my ZIPAIR flights.
And that’s all my experience and thoughts about flying ZIPAIR! Overall, I was quite happy with the cost paid and the experience on the flight.
Tokyo Travel Guide: If you are visiting Tokyo, you might want to check my Tokyo Itinerary post. I have also written many posts about traveling around Japan.
See you next time! 👋
Note: I paid for my family’s tickets for the ZIPAIR flight referenced in this post. All thoughts and opinions are honest and remain my own.
Unfortunately I had a truly awful experience with zipair (after reading many reviews like this on Instagram and various blogs). I wouldn’t recommend zipair to my worst enemy. My story below:
I was traveling with a small child to Tokyo over the holidays (from the US) and wanted extra room for him to rest – so I purchased 3 seats for the 2 of us so we could be more comfortable.
I purchased 3 seats with assigned seating and reserved our 3 seats adjacent to each other online. I later discovered they did not save our third seat reservation and indeed said that they don’t allow customers to have an extra seats (even at full price!)
However they refused to offer any type of refund for the third extra seat they purchased. Instead the agent said that they had completely sold out the flight (meaning they sold our paid for seat to another customer!)
I have never heard of an airline letting you purchase an extra seat at full price but then not fulfilling on it (and not offering any refund at all). Their customer support is disastrous and their airport gate agents absolutely unhelpful.
Don’t believe all the positive you tube videos of people flying zip air. They are the absolute worst.
Hey Dom, sorry to hear about your bad experience and thanks for sharing. I guess it is prudent to check with the airline before buying extra ticket. I do think it’s strange that they would not refund as well, though I know refunds in this part of the world are not common especially when it comes to airlines. In any case, I’m just sharing my personal experience of flying with ZIPAIR, which fortunately for me was decent.
Upon research I found that they have recently (less than 2 months ago) introduced a way to purchase additional seat. However it has to be done once onboard after take-off. It’s called Seat Plus https://www.zipair.net/en/notification/276
Not sure how many people would buy this since usually if there is a free seat onboard people just take the liberty to occupy it.
Hi Melissa
Thank you for the full review of zip air very useful! 😄
Btw did zip air measure the weight of the carry on at check in counter or at boarding gate for the return flight Tokyo to Singapore? Thank you! 😄
Hey Fani, yes in my experience they do weigh the carry on luggage in Tokyo. They were quite strict about it too.
I really enjoyed your detailed review of ZIPAIR! It’s great to see a budget option like this on the Singapore to Tokyo route. Your tips about the in-flight experience and the food options were really helpful. I’ll definitely consider flying with them on my next trip!
Hi
Thanks for your detailed review. I have a question if you don’t mind me asking, Which seats would have the Mt Fuji view. My first time to japan with my two kids..
Joey
Hmmm I didn’t see Mt Fuji on the flight. Zipair flies at night so I doubt it would be visible.
On the plane now, 1 hour away from NRT.
How come no one mentioned that there are ONLY 2 back toilets for the normal seats?? And why do they reserve the 2 front toilets for the lie flat seats when they are not business class or premium products.
I can forgive all but not this toilet problem.
Crazy!
Wow that definitely did not happen during my flight! we were in the front seats of the non-lie flats and were able to use the front toilets as it’s just right in front of our seats.
Singapore Chinese are infamous for their miserliness. Always looking for a discount, even if it means boarding a flight at 1:20 a.m.! Seriously, such cheap-skates and penny-pinchers!
…. I’m Indonesian 🥲
you are here, looking at review for this very low cost company too…
Hi, I read yr reply regards to the check bag size. Base on yr own booking, may I know what is the size of yr luggage bag that you check in? 24″ / 28″ / 29″ or 30″? And I understand that each bag must not be more than 30kg. But I’m just curious on the size type. Thank you
Hey Yuni, not sure what the answer to this is since I feel like each luggage has their own size. but they gave the dimension of the luggage here: https://www.zipair.net/en/service/baggage#checkInBaggage you can measure your luggage maybe?
Thank you Melissa, with the link you provided regards to the baggage size
Sorry, another question..
You did mention you went during winter, if don’t mind which month? And roughly at that time, which month you manage to book yr flight?
As im going in Nov, but booking period is not open yet. I’m just worried will it be too late then?
Like hotel arrangements, attractions ticket etc
I booked as soon as it was released – so on 12 September 2023 I booked for my tickets. I flew on 30 November. I recommend monitoring their Notification page since that’s where they will announce schedule release: https://www.zipair.net/en/notification
Hi Melissa,
Comprehensive review, Zipair should give you a discount the next time you book with them 🙂
I need your input for luggage size. I have 28-inch luggage and is this size acceptable? My friend was telling me Zipair allowed only 24-inch with 30kg weight limit. Please clarify. Appreciate your response.
Hey Allysia, there’s a size restriction on check in luggage. Check them here: https://www.zipair.net/en/service/baggage
Both my son and I are flying zip air in July from Singapore to Tokyo. However, we only brining one big luggage and one carry on which is 7kgs. I decided to just bring one ticket with the package for my teenager son, and for myself, just the ticket on the way there. On the way back, we bought both tickets with package. I tried to go back their website to change and add on the package afraid that our seats won’t be assigned together so decided to add on the package as we booked the tickets with rush and didn’t think carefully. Anyway, it seems impossible to make the change now. Was wondering zip air can’t do amendments and add ons after the booking reservation has been made?
Hey Jude, I think you might have to call or email Zipair on this one. I am not sure if it’s possible.
Nice artcile, thanks for all the deatils, I live in Tokyo but have to work a lot in LA and zipair flies that route, I think I will switch. One suggestion: do not get an expansive private car from Narita, the Keisei Skyliner train is amazing (big comfy seats, ton of space for large luggage, fast etc..) and takes you from Narita into central Tokyo (Ueno or Tokyo station). I actually prefer to fly into Narita than Haneda because the skyliner is so much more convenient than taking the monorail and subway.
They straight up ripped us off. We bought a flight LATE at night last year. Next morning we found out we would have no dog-sitter. at 3pm we cancelled our flight. You are supposed to have 24 hours. We did not hear back from them until the NEXT day saying they were refunding $127 of our $3000 flight. They are not like any other Japanese company I have EVER dealt with. They are, from what we learned, truly dishonest.
Hi Chet, sorry to hear that! We don’t even get 24 hour refund window in this part of the world 🙂
This is what I can see from their website Fare Rules, do you fulfill the requirement? Is the flight you booked at least a week before it was set to depart?
“If you purchased a flight to/from the United States or if you purchased a flight to/from Canada, you can get a full refund of your flight ticket within 24 hours of your reservation with no additional charge. However, your reservation must be at least one week before the departure of your flight. Please contact the contact center for the refund.”
Any idea when is nov/Dec tickets launched ?
Hi Minnie, I have a section on “Schedule Release” in my post above for this! Let me know if you have further questions
I saw that , but I gotta refer to 1.5 to 2 months before autumn or winter to book for the end Nov tickets ?
Actually it will be late for planning perspective if they released at such late timing ?
I don’t work at Zipair, so I can only offer your historically when they released their schedule. That was when they released their winter schedule last year. You can also take a look when they released their schedules for the more recent seasons if that gives you more data point.
Can I bring power bank on board zipair?
Thanks
Hey Sandy, ZipAir flies to Narita and here is their requirements: https://www.narita-airport.jp/en/news/notice_liionbattery/
Hi Melissa
Thanks for sharing your experience. This is so helpful.
Does buying the “Value” package allows for 1 carry-on baggage?
Hi Denise, carry on is free up to 7kg https://www.zipair.net/en/service/baggage
Hi, how do you book the lay flat seats? I don’t see that as an option on the seat selection portion of your post. planning a trip in April from Vancouver! that’s a new route so thinking about trying our Zip. Thanks.
There will be an option to select lay flat seats when you are booking
Hello! how do you let your son sleep on the plane? i’m planning with 4 and 2 yo!
Hey Eklima, he slept with his head on the seat divider. I let him sleep on my jacket for some cushion.
How is weather in tokyo during September?
Yup, read that from their website. Was hoping for a real feel… Fingers crossed, hopefully bigger (but doubt that too)?
I don’t think it’s bigger :/ I’ll double confirm on the way back, but pretty much felt like any other economy class
Hi, your RSS subscriber here again 😀
I normally fly ANA economy to Haneda, which have very good seat ptich (34 inch according to ANA). Plenty of legroom for an economy seat.
How is Zipair’s and JAL’s seat pitch as compared to ANA?
Hey Mich! Unfortunately it is only 31 inch, according to Zipair website: https://www.zipair.net/en/service/seat#standard. For the price though, I would strongly consider the full flat seats unless you’re traveling with a child
LOL .. ANA said their seat pitch is 34”?
And I want to sell you a piece of the Tokyo Tower.
Message me! 🙂