格安航空会社 安全と信頼が飛躍につながる

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Dec. 26, 2012)
Budget airlines will grow through safety, quality
格安航空会社　安全と信頼が飛躍につながる（12月25日付・読売社説）

This year saw a flock of domestic low-cost carriers take to the skies. The budget airlines are fast becoming a presence in the air-travel market.
　今年相次いで運航を開始した国内の格安航空会社（ＬＣＣ）が、存在感を増しつつある。

Thanks in part to their success in attracting customers who had never boarded a plane before, the acronym LCC was selected as one of the top buzzwords of the year.
　飛行機に乗ったことのない客層も掘り起こし、「ＬＣＣ」は２０１２年の流行語大賞の一つに選ばれた。

The growth of budget airlines will prompt the high-cost aviation industry to become more efficient, while at the same time helping to stimulate the economy by bringing in tourists from other Asian countries where travel demand is strong. We sincerely hope these airlines will continue making giant leaps forward.
　ＬＣＣの進展は、高コスト体質の航空業界に効率化を促し、旅行需要が旺盛なアジアの観光客を取り込み、経済活性化につながる。さらなる飛躍を期待したい。

Peach Aviation, a subsidiary of All Nippon Airways based at Kansai Airport, has flown more than 1 million passengers since its launch in March.
　関西空港を拠点に３月から就航した全日本空輸系のピーチ・アビエーションは、利用客が１００万人を突破した。

This summer saw the inauguration of two more domestic low-cost carriers, both based at Narita Airport--AirAsia Japan, a subsidiary of All Nippon Airways, and Jetstar Japan, partly owned by Japan Airlines.
夏には、成田空港が拠点の全日空系のエアアジア・ジャパン、日本航空系のジェットスター・ジャパンが参入した。

===

Low fares=packed flights

These low-cost carriers marked passenger occupancy rates around 90 percent during the Bon holiday period, exceeding the two major airlines JAL and ANA, which saw occupancy rates down to the 70 percent level. Seats on LCCs are reportedly almost all booked up for the New Year holiday season.
　お盆シーズンの搭乗率は軒並み９０％前後と、７０％台の大手２社を上回った。年末年始の予約状況もほぼ満席という。

The success of the budget carriers probably stems from having attracted such customers as students, elderly people and women with fares that are sometimes less than half what the major airlines charge.
　運賃を大手の半分以下に抑え、学生や高齢者、女性などの顧客層を開拓したことが功を奏したのだろう。

We salute the low-cost airlines for proving they can create demand by combining safety and reasonable prices.
安全と手頃な価格を両立させれば、需要創出が可能なことを実証した意味は大きい。

Nevertheless, the low-cost carriers still account for only about 3 percent of the nation's total passenger volume. Compared with their counterparts in the United States and Europe, which have about 30 percent, Japan's budget carriers still lag far behind.
　とはいえ、日本の旅客輸送量に占めるＬＣＣの比率は３％程度に過ぎず、３０％前後と高い欧米と比べると普及が遅れている。

Low-cost carriers need to expand their business efforts. Since restricting themselves to domestic routes will limit their growth, it is important for them to expand their services abroad.
　ＬＣＣ各社には一層の経営努力が求められるが、国内線だけでは成長が限られる以上、海外への路線拡大が重要だ。

We salute the business strategies of Peach Aviation and AirAsia Japan, which added flights to other Asian countries this autumn.
ピーチとエアアジアが今秋、アジアに路線を延ばしたのは妥当な戦略と言える。

LCCs also need to improve the quality of their flight services while maintaining safety and improving on-time rates. Making sure they have enough pilots will also be important.
　運航の質を高めることも不可欠だ。引き続き安全運航を徹底するとともに、定時運航率の改善を急がなければならない。パイロット確保も重要な課題だろう。

Each low-cost carrier needs to strengthen passenger trust so their current popularity does not end up being just another short-lived boom.
　ＬＣＣ人気を一時のブームに終わらせないよう、各社は信頼向上を図ることが求められる。

===

Airports have role, too

To support the popularization of low-cost carriers, it is also important to review how airports are managed by the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry, and other related entities.
　国土交通省などの空港運営の見直しもＬＣＣ普及に大切だ。

Kansai and Naha airports have opened terminals exclusively for low-cost carriers that charge reasonable fees. However, many analysts agree that the costly new facility at Narita Airport to open in fiscal 2014 is excessively luxurious. The operator of Narita needs to consider lowering its usage and landing fees, which are relatively high compared to airports overseas.
　関西と那覇で低廉なＬＣＣ専用ターミナルが稼働したが、成田が１４年度に新設する施設は巨額な事業費を投じ、必要以上に豪華との声が根強い。使用料や着陸料など海外より割高な空港コストの削減を検討すべきだ。

Narita Airport can only be used between 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. due to noise control measures. For low-cost carriers, which continually fly a limited number of airplanes, one delay can easily lead to others. This year, budget airlines were forced to cancel several flights because they could not make it to Narita before 11 p.m.
　成田の使用時間は、騒音対策で午前６時から午後１１時に制限されている。少ない航空機を何度も往復させるＬＣＣは、一度の遅れが玉突きで広がる。地方発で成田到着が「門限」に間に合わず、欠航する便が相次いだ。

The transport ministry has proposed expanding the operating hours of Narita by one hour later at night and one hour earlier in the morning. We hope this plan can be implemented as soon as possible by reaching an agreement with local governments and residents.
　国交省は、時間制限を深夜と早朝各１時間ずつ緩和する案を提示した。自治体や住民と調整し、早期に実現してもらいたい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Dec. 25, 2012)
（2012年12月25日01時17分  読売新聞）