Flying with a budget airline
Hello, travelers. This is Kumi. Picturesque Japan Blog tells you about what it's like to fly with a budget airline.
I chose Vanilla Air to go to Okinawa. The flight is from Narita Airport Terminal 3. You can get off at Narita Airport Terminal 2 station.
Then follow the signs for Terminal 3.
Hmm... OK. Go outside...
Walk along the blue lane.
It's clear and easy.
You could either walk or get on the shuttle bus. As the bus was there, I jumped on it.
It's a short ride and you need to walk some distance anyway.
Going up...
Isn't this like an athletic field, is it?? LOL
Finally, arrived at the entrance!
Ha!!! Sprint 100 meters!?
After a longrun walk, I arrived at the check-in counter.
All I need was my reservation number. A very thin boarding pass like a receipt of an American supermarket is issued.
Carry-on luggage is measured here. It should be up to 7kg. In Narita, they didn't measure after this, so technically, I could add things into my bag before going to the gate. (*Naha Airport in Okinawa was a lot more strict)
There are a lot of shops and casual restaurants at Terminal 3.
For people who need to wait for long hours, the north waiting area is available.
You can mail letters before going through the security.
After the security, you should look for your gate. My flight was from 150C. It was right behind the security gate.
This is the gate area. Very simple.
It's nice that there is this last-minute shop. I bought a bottle of water.
I realized one thing. If you want to sit on a sofa with backrest, you shouldn't fly with budget airlines. LOL
I was happy without backrest because I could enjoy this view.
The boarding started. Going through the gate...
down the stairs...
getting on the bus...
and getting on board.
For people who love to see airplanes closely, budget airlines may be a good choice.
This is inside. Three seats, an aisle, and three seats. There is not much difference with other major airlines except for the ads on the seat.
The seat pitch? Hmm... I've never felt uncomfortable with any economy flights, so this seems quite alright. (People with long legs may feel differently)
Time to fly!
By the way, I am VERY scared of flying, but I love the view.
I was very surprised to find out the flight was for 3 hours and 25 minutes because I thought it was less than 3 hours. After research, I found Haneda to Okinawa is quicker than the flight from Narita. Even from Narita, ANA flights are faster than budget airlines.
NRT to OKA
https://www.navitime.co.jp/air/diagram/result?departure=NRT&arrival=OKA
HND to OKA
https://www.navitime.co.jp/air/diagram/result?departure=HND&arrival=OKA
So if you wish to save time, you should probably fly from Haneda with ANA or JAL unless you live very close to Narita.
The Vanilla flight was very comfortable. The window was clean and the cabin attendants were friendly. You can't get free drinks, but tea was 200 yen and coffee was 300 yen, so it was reasonable.
Walking down the stairs with a 7kg bag is a good exercise. :P
And walk to the terminal.
Nothing fancy.
People are waiting for their checked luggage.
If you don't have any, you can simply walk to the exit.
Haha. This is like a warehouse.
You can take the shuttle bus to the main terminal. The bus comes every 10 minutes or so and the ride was perhaps 5 minutes or so.
Now, let me talk a little bit about my return flight.
I took the shuttle bus from the main terminal to the budget air terminal. It's like a behind the scene tour! You can see the things which you cannot see when you fly with other major airlines.
7kg measurement at Naha airport was really strict but a shop lady gave me good advice. You can squeeze things in your jacket pockets because they don't measure your jacket. So I bought two small bottles of Awamori (Okinawa's local alcohol), put them in my pockets, and passed this 7kg gate. Yay!
And... this is the waiting area. This reminded me of a graduation ceremony in a college gymnasium. LOL
Anyway, the flight was pleasant.
I saw a great sunset.
The bus picked up us to the terminal 3.
Then you can either walk or take another shuttle bus to terminal 2.
Considering the price for the roundtrip flight (12,420 JPY which is close to 100 USD), this was really a good deal!!! However, you do feel that you chose something cheap especially when you need to walk a long distance or when you need to sit on an obviously cheap chair. So it's really your choice. If you really wish to travel a lot by saving costs, budget airlines could be a good option.
*Please feel free to comment below with other experiences or information! Also, if you find any errors in content or grammar, please let me know.
I chose Vanilla Air to go to Okinawa. The flight is from Narita Airport Terminal 3. You can get off at Narita Airport Terminal 2 station.
Then follow the signs for Terminal 3.
Hmm... OK. Go outside...
Walk along the blue lane.
It's clear and easy.
You could either walk or get on the shuttle bus. As the bus was there, I jumped on it.
It's a short ride and you need to walk some distance anyway.
Going up...
Isn't this like an athletic field, is it?? LOL
Finally, arrived at the entrance!
Ha!!! Sprint 100 meters!?
After a long
All I need was my reservation number. A very thin boarding pass like a receipt of an American supermarket is issued.
Carry-on luggage is measured here. It should be up to 7kg. In Narita, they didn't measure after this, so technically, I could add things into my bag before going to the gate. (*Naha Airport in Okinawa was a lot more strict)
There are a lot of shops and casual restaurants at Terminal 3.
For people who need to wait for long hours, the north waiting area is available.
You can mail letters before going through the security.
After the security, you should look for your gate. My flight was from 150C. It was right behind the security gate.
This is the gate area. Very simple.
It's nice that there is this last-minute shop. I bought a bottle of water.
I realized one thing. If you want to sit on a sofa with backrest, you shouldn't fly with budget airlines. LOL
I was happy without backrest because I could enjoy this view.
The boarding started. Going through the gate...
down the stairs...
getting on the bus...
and getting on board.
For people who love to see airplanes closely, budget airlines may be a good choice.
This is inside. Three seats, an aisle, and three seats. There is not much difference with other major airlines except for the ads on the seat.
The seat pitch? Hmm... I've never felt uncomfortable with any economy flights, so this seems quite alright. (People with long legs may feel differently)
By the way, I am VERY scared of flying, but I love the view.
I was very surprised to find out the flight was for 3 hours and 25 minutes because I thought it was less than 3 hours. After research, I found Haneda to Okinawa is quicker than the flight from Narita. Even from Narita, ANA flights are faster than budget airlines.
NRT to OKA
https://www.navitime.co.jp/air/diagram/result?departure=NRT&arrival=OKA
HND to OKA
https://www.navitime.co.jp/air/diagram/result?departure=HND&arrival=OKA
So if you wish to save time, you should probably fly from Haneda with ANA or JAL unless you live very close to Narita.
The Vanilla flight was very comfortable. The window was clean and the cabin attendants were friendly. You can't get free drinks, but tea was 200 yen and coffee was 300 yen, so it was reasonable.
Walking down the stairs with a 7kg bag is a good exercise. :P
And walk to the terminal.
Nothing fancy.
People are waiting for their checked luggage.
If you don't have any, you can simply walk to the exit.
Haha. This is like a warehouse.
You can take the shuttle bus to the main terminal. The bus comes every 10 minutes or so and the ride was perhaps 5 minutes or so.
Now, let me talk a little bit about my return flight.
I took the shuttle bus from the main terminal to the budget air terminal. It's like a behind the scene tour! You can see the things which you cannot see when you fly with other major airlines.
7kg measurement at Naha airport was really strict but a shop lady gave me good advice. You can squeeze things in your jacket pockets because they don't measure your jacket. So I bought two small bottles of Awamori (Okinawa's local alcohol), put them in my pockets, and passed this 7kg gate. Yay!
And... this is the waiting area. This reminded me of a graduation ceremony in a college gymnasium. LOL
Anyway, the flight was pleasant.
I saw a great sunset.
The bus picked up us to the terminal 3.
Then you can either walk or take another shuttle bus to terminal 2.
Considering the price for the roundtrip flight (12,420 JPY which is close to 100 USD), this was really a good deal!!! However, you do feel that you chose something cheap especially when you need to walk a long distance or when you need to sit on an obviously cheap chair. So it's really your choice. If you really wish to travel a lot by saving costs, budget airlines could be a good option.
*Please feel free to comment below with other experiences or information! Also, if you find any errors in content or grammar, please let me know.
