Zipair flight full review - watch before you buy! 

My wife and I flew on ZIPAIR 3 times last year from SF Bay Area to NRT and paid around $560RT each time with free wifi (cheaper than 2-night stay in Maui). We brought one backpack and our own food.

I always carry an empty plastic soft drink bottle in my backpack. If on a long flight, I bring a larger empty plastic bottle. After going thru security, I fill the water bottle with water before boarding. You can stick the water bottle in the pocket behind the seat in front of you during the flight. I also bring a small empty thermos in my backpack... and when in the terminal, buy coffee from a terminal eatery then fill the thermos before boarding. I also bring a nice cushiony $8 neck pillow which I bought at Ross and sit on it during the flight to keep my butt from getting sore. For my in-flight entertainment, I bring a book to read and a journal notebook to write in.

Great review! Thanks! My friend was just asking about Zipair! I think you addressed his questions. Great job as always!!

I’m trying to book a flight from LAX to Tokyo but it’s asking for a Destination Address (for entering the US?) I’m not sure if they need a Japanese address we’re staying at or for when we come back to the US. Any advice?

I’ll have 2 small kids with me… we will be taking the economy/standard seats - which is fine bc I’m 5 ft & my kids are small …. but when boarding - do we get to go in first to select our seats? Is it like southwest airline seatings? My husband (6ft) & 2 older sons will take the business seat. They should be very well rested! 😅

I flew the same route a few months back and was kinda shocked by the meal size too 😂 I wasn’t sure if I’ve just become used to the huge American portions. Love the 白い恋人 option tho, it’s cheaper than buying from the airport, also a convenient souvenir cuz my friends outside of Hokkaido love them but they can’t usually get them unless they go to the airport. Personally, their “business” full flat seats are of better value. It’s essentially only twice of a regular economy fare (ANA, UNITED) and you can lie down. It’s probably the best value available.

on the standard seats with the value package, can you bring a small carry on, backpack, and a large checked bag?

I am contemplating using ZipAir from Hawaii to Japan, thanks for the review. How comfortable are their coach seats, legroom, reclineability. I've seen other reviews of their lie-flat seats but was wondering about the coach seats. Mahalo

Good to know. I’m a person that take flight experience as part of trip experience. I’m okay economy but do enjoy plane food, entertainment on board, and stress free check in luggage. I will pass as well. Thank you.

Did they measure the carry on bags? My bag is 22 inches tall which is a little over the 55cm (21.65 inches) max they have listed on their website.

I need help with the booking part. There was no review on that. Id like to book 6 mo ahead but I can't seem to see that far ahead on their calendar. Am I missing something?

Flying Zip next week.😁 HNL to BKK...with connection at Narita. found a super low price in Feb. Lay Flat was $1200 one way including the premium package x 2. I like that you are able to book one way and the price is the same 😀

Excellent Video!! Worth a try for the price!! 😊🇯🇵 ✈️

I also stressed a bit about my carry-on weight and was surprised it wasn't weighed at LAX for my flight to NRT, nor for the return flight. Even though my flight was full (based upon the people who eventually arrived at the gate) there were very few people checking in when I was, so my wait was only about 10 minutes to get to the ticket agent. The PASSPORT READER didn't work for my passport either (though I seemed to be the exception) and even at the ticket counter there was a problem with reading my passport. Thankfully those were my only delays at NRT. For the price I paid, I would have been willing to overlook a lot of subpar experiences, but (excluding the passport reader) I had none. I'll most likely fly with ZIPAIR for my future trips to Japan.

Fill a backpack with snacks and drinks. No need to buy from the airline. Will be returning to Manila from Tokyo in 2 days.

Is the zipair express service worth it, its 20 bucks but you’re able to get your baggage first or early than normal?

3 - 3 -3 seating configuration on an international flight???

Thank you for your very enlightening review. We used your advice to book our add-on's. If you do your homework and understand that it is a "Discount Airline" then you won't be disappointed on your flight and we saved enough to pay for our rooms in Tokyo.

First flight with them in oct. Unfortunately the plane ticket with luggage upgrade turned into similar price with air canada price with similar luggage. So will just go with it and see how it goes. Plus me and my brother dont mind buying snacks and drinks at the airport after security for thw flight. We dont like plane food anyways

Does the plane meal need to buy on board?

Great video. I like your english. Awhich state do you live in. Were they strict with the baggage

Im worried about the leg room, those seats look close together.

i am also planning to go to tokyo. Which attractions do you recommend to go to

Hello….what gifts from USA would Japanese friends enjoy? I hear that they like food from Trader Joe’s….is that true? Skittles and starburst for kids? 49ers or Giants t shirts and hats? Thanks

Everyone: "No in-flight entertainment? 😱" Me, a frequent Southwest flyer: 🤷‍♂️ I'm willing to put a few movies on my phone if it means cheaper tickets

How long was the flight ✈️? Thank you

are taxis really expensive in tokyo

why is it cheaper that other airlines

ohh what a stress, I think every airlines weights the bags !

Maybe Zipair should remain domestic first

I love salmon

Long flight with no entertainment and water?

Food like for horses

🍣 🍣 🍣

We flew Zip Air last summer. Eh… it’s shit, plain and simple… and that’s even comparing them to Southwest and JetBlue (Frontier and such are plain trash 😂)… or these days perhaps even United (with all their nickel and dime-ing). The flight from SJC to NRT, including check-in was OK. We prepaid for everything (luggage, carryons and food). The food choices were slim from SJC and were pretty shitty. The sweet and sour pork was 🤮. The soboro don was equally terrible. The curry rice was passable. Portion size was a joke… compared to the normal ANA and JAL stuff. No free drinks much less water… hell the availability of even water was tight. Stock up on the airport after security. The WiFi barely worked on both flights to order from the spare items they had available onboard. Internet? None. Better load up your phone and/or tablet before leaving. The charging sockets were garbage… too loose to keep a charger plugged in. If I remember correctly it did have a USB A port (in 2023?!!) that did work ok. The economy seats were like flying United or American. The passport scanner worked ok for U.S. passport, but Japanese passports with a notation (in parentheses) for alternative last names (e.g. Japanese married to foreigner and keeps last name in Japan, but takes husband’s last name abroad)… passport scanners don’t like that. Even in the U.S. Check-in in NRT was horrible. Got a medical device (e.g. CPAP machine) you’re traveling with? They are exempted from counting as a carry-on universally. Zip Air? Wants you to open it to verify that large handbag sized case is really a CPAP. Ok, not a huge deal. Then they pull out a chart of CPAP models and ask you to pick out the model, after which they go to their supervisor to Ok it. Maybe they’re a new person? Give me a break! In the country of “ the customer is god”? Pretty much everything was scrutinized far far more than it was in SJC. The food choices from NRT was much greater and much better. The butter chicken was actually not bad as well as the other selections. Verdict? Zip Air is trash, BUT it’s cheeeeeaaaaap trash. When I was 25, I’d put up with it for that low low price. However at 45? Ehhh… I dunno if it’s worth it when you normally have to deal with work stress, commuting stress and family stress and now on your time off you gotta put up with all that shit? Granted if you can/want to put out for the lay-flat seats, they are another huge bargain compared to flying business or 1st class on ANA, JAL, United, etc. but compared to Zip Air economy, they are spendy. All that being said our savings for 3 people was like $2000 compared to ANA… and well… we’re kinda cheapskates. So I want to say “no”, but that price makes it really hard. Ultimately it comes down to each person and what’s it’s worth to you.

U get what you pay for… why cant people understand that

The free wifi more than makes up for the lack of IFE.　正直エアージャパンより全然マシ。

americanos

Girl smh you flying a low cost airlines smh

Avoid this cheap air they don't give water so why flight atendendents to play on tablet

Lazy not speaking english

some one said zip air is the worst airline in the world.

Japanese passports seem to work so I guess the machine isn't really good with US passports. And the food quality is heavily dependent upon your point of origin. Even ANA and JAL struggle to offer the same quality of food in return flights to Japan because US food quality is not as good and catering options are limited. And US carriers have better food returning from Japan because they use Japanese catering services. Just look at how the rice was packed on your salmon flying to Japan. No food company (or parent) in Japan would pack rice like that for a Obento. And California produces excellent Japanese rice, so whoever is making the Obento has limited knowledge of Japanese food. (You can easily get a better Obento in Japan for 500 Yen.) There are certain flight destinations, such as quick turn-around flights, when airlines will pack for round trip, especially when local food quality cannot be trusted. But I fear that would defeat the purpose of Low-Cost Carrier.

This kind of vloggger that didn’t search much info of the airlines has a lot to say. Didn’t even know what the concept of LCC. Every check-in counter takes time, maybe for technical issues cannot read passport or not…. Should you blame everything at the airlines? 😅