Spring Japan

Spring Japan (IATA code IJ) is a Japanese low-cost airline based at Narita International Airport, where it also has its head office. It was set up with China's Spring Airlines and has been part of the Japan Airlines group since 2021. It flies Boeing 737-800s from Narita to a small number of Japanese and Chinese cities, and it also operates a separate fleet of Airbus freighters for the Japanese parcel company Yamato Transport.

History

The company was founded in October 2012 as Spring Airlines Japan. Spring Airlines held 33% at the start, with Japanese investors holding the rest. A start in autumn 2013 was planned; the air operator's certificate came on 17 December 2013 and flights began on 1 August 2014. The first aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, had been delivered on 17 July 2013. The airline chose the 737 rather than the Airbus A320s flown by its Chinese parent because the Boeing type was more widely used in Japan and 737-qualified pilots were easier to find.

In July 2021 a capital increase by the JAL group made Spring Japan a JAL group subsidiary and reduced Spring Airlines' share; in October 2021 the company took its current name, Spring Japan. It has a codeshare agreement with Japan Airlines.

Network

From its Narita base, Wikipedia lists flights to Beijing, Harbin, Ningbo, Shanghai Pudong and Tianjin in China, and to Hiroshima and Sapporo New Chitose in Japan.

Fares

On domestic flights the airline sells three fare types, which differ in how much checked baggage is included: Lucky Spring (none), Spring (20 kg) and Spring Plus (30 kg). On those flights every passenger may bring two cabin items with a combined weight of 7 kg.

Fleet

A Wikipedia fleet table dated July 2026 lists nine aircraft. Six are Boeing 737-800 passenger aircraft with 189 seats, 18 of them in a premium section in the first three rows. The other three are Airbus A321-200 freighters converted from passenger aircraft and flown for Yamato Transport. JAL ordered them in November 2022 for operation by Spring Japan from spring 2024, a plan linked to a new cap on lorry drivers' overtime in Japan that took effect that spring. The first was delivered on 6 November 2023 in Yamato livery. The fleet was the same in August 2025.