Start-up low-cost carrier Jetstar Japan has named Miyuki Suzuki as its CEO.
Suzuki, a Japanese national, will begin his new role on 1 December this year, said Jetstar, the low-cost subsidiary of Australia's Qantas Airways.
Suzuki was previously at Japanese telecommunications and IT services company KVH Co for the last five years, first as president and CEO before becoming its vice-chairman.
Prior to that, Suzuki was CEO of Lexis Nexis for Asia Pacific, executive vice-president for consumer business at Japan Telecom and managing director at Reuters Southeast Asia.
Bruce Buchanan, CEO of the Jetstar Group, said Suzuki's experience in industries going through deregulation will prove particularly useful in her new role.
"Across several different sectors, Suzuki has used innovation to drive efficiency and create better experiences for customers," Buchanan said.
"Innovation is critical to Jetstar Japan because it is the key to managing cost and being able to consistently offer fares [that are] at least 40% less than existing prices in the domestic market," Buchanan added.
"This is a unique time to be part of the aviation industry in Japan, with deregulation encouraging fresh investment and making the sector a catalyst for our nation's prosperity," Suzuki said.
Jetstar Japan is a joint venture between the Qantas Group, Japan Airlines and Mitsubishi Corporation. At a board meeting on 7 October, the partners agreed to commit up to ¥12 billion ($156 million) to capitalise the new company.
The airline, which is expected to be based in Tokyo's Narita airport and Osaka's Kansai International airport, is set to begin its domestic operations by the end of 2012 and its short-haul international flights in 2013.
The domestic destinations under consideration include Sapporo, Fukuoka and Okinawa.
Jetstar Japan will initially have a fleet of three new Airbus A320s configured for 180 passengers and this is projected to grow to 24 aircraft within the first few years of operation.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
