Japanese carriers have been searching for answers for the weak demand in their domestic market since the pandemic.
This year, Japan Airlines has expanded its saver fares to include same-day departures on flights between Tokyo and Osaka and Tokyo and Komatsu (near Kanazawa). In short, passengers can book cheaper fares on the day of departure, as long as space is available.
Below is a look at airfares today, Nov. 4, 2025 (local time), from Tokyo to Osaka. Typically, passengers on the day of booking could not book the cheaper saver fares, and instead had to opt for the pricier flex option, which is priced at 32,800 JPY in this case.
However, passengers can now book a same-day ticket for half the price, at 14,980 JPY, as long as there is space available.
This comes during a time when many Japanese carriers have come out discussing the weak demand and grim future of the country’s domestic sector. Given the rising operating costs stemming from a weak domestic currency, lower business travel demand post-pandemic, and competition with high-speed rail, most airlines haven’t made profits on domestic flights since 2019.
For Japan Airlines, the lower business travel demand has forced lower revenue despite higher load factors because of more leisure travelers paying lower fares:
For my full deep dive on Japan’s domestic air travel struggles, read here.
Allowing passengers to book saver fares on the day of departure isn’t a direct solution to the diminished business demand within Japan. However, this could maximize the strong leisure demand the nation has seen since the pandemic.
The saver fares are about the same as Shinkansen tickets, which run a flat fare. As the Japanese bullet trains are a popular ticketing option for same-day travel among all travel demographics, Japan Airlines perhaps is looking to capture some same-day leisure demand that would normally go to the Shinkansen and further push up its load factors on its Osaka and Komatsu routes.
Featured image by the author.
