Editing JAL Express

{{Short description|Defunct low-cost airline of Japan (1997–2014)}}
{{Infobox airline
| airline        = JAL Express
| image          = JALExpresslogo.gif
| image_size     = 250
| IATA           = JL
| ICAO           = JEX
| callsign       = JANEX
| founded        = {{start date|1997|04|01|df=y}}<br />(as ''JEX'')
| commenced      = {{start date|1998|07|01|df=y}}
| ceased         = {{end date|2014|09|30|df=y}}<br />(re-integrated into [[Japan Airlines]])
| hubs           = [[Haneda Airport|Tokyo–Haneda]]
| secondary_hubs = 
| focus_cities   = [[Chubu Centrair International Airport|Nagoya–Centrair]]
| frequent_flyer = [[JAL Mileage Bank]]
| alliance       = [[Oneworld]] (affiliate, 2007—2014)
| subsidiaries   = 
| fleet_size     = 
| destinations   = 
| parent         = [[Japan Airlines]]
| company_slogan = 
| headquarters   = [[Ota-ku, Tokyo]], Japan
| key_people     = Shigemi Kurusu <br />([[President (corporate title)|President]])
| website        = 
}}

{{nihongo|'''JAL Express Co., Ltd.''' ('''JEX''')|株式会社ジャル エクスプレス|Kabushiki-gaisha Jaru Ekusupuresu}}, was an airline with its [[headquarters]] at [[Haneda Airport|Tokyo International Airport]] and in [[Ota-ku, Tokyo]], Japan, and its [[airline hub|main hub]] at Tokyo International Airport. It also maintained offices in the Japan Airlines Building in [[Shinagawa, Tokyo]]. Its operations included scheduled and non-scheduled passenger services to eight regional destinations across Japan. It also served 15 additional destinations in Japan, and two in the [[People's Republic of China]] on behalf of [[Japan Airlines]], under a [[Aircraft lease#Wet lease|wet-lease]] agreement.

JAL Express was a wholly owned subsidiary of Japan's [[flag carrier]], [[Japan Airlines]] and an affiliate member of the [[Oneworld]] alliance. It was founded April 1, 1997, and began operations with a [[Boeing 737 Classic#737-400|Boeing 737-400]] on July 1, 1998. It celebrated its tenth anniversary and first flight in April 2007 and July 2008, respectively. It operated its first international flight in May 2009, and flew to [[Hangzhou]] and [[Shanghai]]. In the [[fiscal year]] ending March 31, 1999, JAL Express, together with its sister airlines within the JAL Group, carried over 32 million passengers and over 1.1 million [[ton]]s of cargo and mail.

The carrier ended operations on 30 September 2014 after being fully integrated with Japan Airlines.

== History ==
[[File:JAL Express Osaka HQ 20100807-001.jpg|thumb|JAL Express former headquarters in [[Ikeda, Osaka]] which is now J-Air's headquarters.]]
[[File:JAL Express Boeing 737-4K5.jpg|thumb|JAL Express [[Boeing 737 Classic#737-400|Boeing 737-400]] in old livery at [[Kobe Airport]]|alt=A Boeing 737-400 aircraft taxiing on the tarmac, with a seaview of two vessels in the water]]
JAL Express (JEX) was established on April 1, 1997 as a wholly owned domestic subsidiary airline of Japan Airlines (JAL), with initial [[financial capital|capital]] of [[Japanese Yen|¥]]5.8 million. It operated scheduled passenger services to regional domestic destinations in Japan, as well as some low-demand flights for JAL under [[Aircraft lease#Wet lease|wet-lease]] agreement. It was also considered for services on the domestic trunk and short-haul international routes. On July 1, 1998, JAL Express commenced operations from [[Osaka]] to [[Miyazaki, Miyazaki|Miyazaki]] and [[Kagoshima]] with two [[Boeing 737 Classic#737-400|Boeing 737-400s]], non-Japanese [[aviator|cockpit crew]], and short-term contracted [[cabin attendant]]s.<ref name=PR1997>{{cite press release|title=JAL Forms "JAL Express" as New Domestic Subsidiary|url=http://www.jal.com/en/press/1997/031002/031002.html|publisher=[[Japan Airlines]]|date=1997-03-10|access-date=2009-09-08}}</ref><ref name=hist>{{cite web|script-title=ja:沿革|trans-title=History|url=http://www.jal.co.jp/jex/company/history.html|language=ja|publisher=[[Japan Airlines]]|access-date=2009-09-08}}</ref><ref name=FI040323>{{cite news|title=J-Air|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/2004/2004-09%20-%200211.html|format=PDF|page=89|work=[[Flight International]]|publisher=[[Reed Business Information]]|date=2004-03-23|access-date=2009-09-12}}</ref> The airline's [[flight attendant|cabin attendants]], called ''Sky Cast'', were responsible for cleaning the 150-seat cabin between flights.<ref>{{cite press release|title=JAL Subsidiary Airlines|url=http://www.jal.com/en/press/2000/012001/012001.html|publisher=[[Japan Airlines]]|date=2000-01-20|access-date=2009-09-09}}</ref>

The airline celebrated its one millionth passenger in June 2000 and commenced wet-lease operation for its parent JAL in December 2000. On 14 November 2002, JAL introduced a new aircraft livery design, "The Arc of the Sun", across the JAL Group fleet. A reception to celebrate the completion of the first aircraft with the new design was held at the [[Japan Air System|JAS]] M2 hangar. In April 2005, the [[McDonnell Douglas MD-80|McDonnell Douglas MD-81]] was introduced to the airline fleet, with an all [[Economy Class]] configuration with 163 seats. JAL Express became an affiliate member of [[Oneworld]] on April 1, 2007, together with four of its sister airlines, in the alliance's biggest expansion in its young history.<ref>{{cite news|title=Japan Airlines|url=http://www.atwonline.com/news/story.html?storyID=8442|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120718053503/http://www.atwonline.com/news/story.html?storyID=8442|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-07-18|work=ATW Daily News|publisher=[[Penton Media]]|date=2007-04-03|access-date=2009-09-12}}</ref> On the same day, the airline celebrated its tenth anniversary of establishment.<ref name="hist" /><ref>{{cite web|title=History of JAL 2001–2004|url=http://www.jal.com/en/history/history/age_01-10.html|publisher=[[Japan Airlines]]|access-date=2009-09-09}}</ref>

JAL Express welcomed the arrival of the new [[Boeing 737 Next Generation#737-800|Boeing 737-800]] to its fleet in January 2008 and celebrated the tenth anniversary of its first flight in July 2008. It operated its first international flight in May 2009 under a wet-lease agreement with JAL.

On July 9, 2010, JAL Express pilot Ari Fuji became its first female airline flight captain.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20100710p2a00m0na010000c.html |title= Japan's first-ever female flight captain faced hard road to pilot's seat - the Mainichi Daily News|website=mdn.mainichi.jp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100712230011/http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20100710p2a00m0na010000c.html |archive-date=July 12, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2010070900433 |title= 時事ドットコム|website=jen.jiji.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713105002/http://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2010070900433 |archive-date=July 13, 2011}}</ref>

As of March 27, 2011, all of JAL Express flights were being operated as JAL flights, until the full merger of the two carriers in September 2014.

== Destinations ==
[[File:JAL Express 737-336 KIX JA8993.jpg|thumb|JAL Express [[Boeing 737 Classic#737-400|Boeing 737-400]] in "Arc of the Sun" livery|alt=A Boeing 737-400 aircraft painted in new JAL corporate livery with a skyline background]]
JAL Express operated to the following destinations:<ref name=coinfo>{{cite web|script-title=ja:会社案内|trans-title=Company Information|url=http://www.jal.co.jp/jex/company/|language=ja|publisher=JAL Express|access-date=2009-09-08}}</ref>

{|class="sortable wikitable"
! Country
! City
! Airport
! Notes
! Refs
|-
!colspan="5"|Scheduled Routes
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Amami Ōshima]]||[[Amami Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Hakodate, Hokkaido|Hakodate]]||[[Hakodate Airport]]||{{Terminated}}||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Hanamaki, Iwate|Iwate-Hanamaki]]||[[Hanamaki Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Kagoshima]]||[[Kagoshima Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Kumamoto, Kumamoto|Kumamoto]]||[[Kumamoto Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Miyazaki, Miyazaki|Miyazaki]]||[[Miyazaki Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Nagoya]]||[[Chubu Centrair International Airport]]||{{Airline focus}}||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Ōita, Ōita|Ōita]]||[[Ōita Airport]]||{{Terminated}}||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Osaka]]||[[Itami Airport]]||{{Airline hub}}||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Sendai]]||[[Sendai Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
!colspan="5"|Wet-leased Routes
|-
|[[China]]||[[Hangzhou]]||[[Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[China]]||[[Shanghai]]||[[Shanghai Pudong International Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Akita, Akita|Akita]]||[[Akita Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Amami Ōshima]]||[[Amami Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Fukuoka]]||[[Fukuoka Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Hiroshima]]||[[Hiroshima Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Hanamaki, Iwate|Iwate-Hanamaki]]||[[Hanamaki Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Izumo, Shimane|Izumo]]||[[Izumo Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Kagoshima]]||[[Kagoshima Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Kitakyushu]]||[[Kitakyushu Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Kobe]]||[[Kobe Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Kōchi, Kōchi|Kōchi]]||[[Kōchi Ryōma Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Kumamoto]]||[[Kumamoto Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Matsuyama]]||[[Matsuyama Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Memanbetsu]]||[[Memanbetsu Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Miyazaki (city)|Miyazaki]]||[[Miyazaki Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Nagoya]]||[[Chubu Centrair International Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Niigata, Niigata|Niigata]]||[[Niigata Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Okayama, Okayama|Okayama]]||[[Naha Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]]||[[Niigata Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Osaka]]||[[Kansai International Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Osaka]]||[[Itami Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Tokushima, Tokushima|Tokushima]]||[[Tokushima Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Sapporo]]||[[New Chitose Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Sendai]]||[[Sendai Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Tokyo]]||[[Haneda Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Tokyo]]||[[Narita International Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Japan]]||[[Ube, Yamaguchi|Yamaguchiube]]||[[Yamaguchi Ube Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|}

== Fleet ==
[[File:JAL MD-81 JA8296.jpg|thumb|JAL Express operated the [[McDonnell Douglas MD-80|McDonnell Douglas MD-81]] aircraft type (pictured) between 2005 and 2010]]
As of September 2013, JAL Express operated 42 [[narrow-body aircraft]], with either two classes of service ([[Business class|''class J'']] and [[Economy class]]) or single class of service (Economy Class).<ref name=dom>{{cite web|script-title=ja:国内線 機内座席配置|trans-title=Domestic In-flight Seating and Facilities|url=http://www.jal.co.jp/5971/seatmap/seatmap.html|language=ja|publisher=Japan Airlines|access-date=2009-08-17}}</ref>{{Needs verification|date=February 2025}}

{| class="toccolours" border="1" cellpadding="3" style="margin:1em auto; border-collapse:collapse"
|+ '''JAL Express fleet'''
|- bgcolor=#F08080 style="color:white;"
! rowspan=2 width=110px | Aircraft
! rowspan=2 | In Service
! colspan=3 class="unsortable" | Passengers
|- bgcolor=#F08080 style="color:white;"
! width=33px | [[Business Class|C]]
! width=33px | [[Economy Class|Y]]
! width=33px | Total
|- align=center
| align=center| [[Boeing 737-800]]
| 42
| 20
| 145
| 165
|}

== Services ==

=== In-flight catering ===
Cold beverages (including Hajime Saori cooled-[[Green tea#Japanese green tea|green tea]], JAL Original citrus drink ''Sky Time'' and apple juice), hot beverages (including tea, green tea, coffee and [[consommé]] soup), JAL Original candy, and [[sugar candy]] were available on JAL Express flights. Passengers traveling in [[Business class|C''lass J'']] could enjoy JAL C''lass J'' in-flight catering services.<ref name=inflt>{{cite web|script-title=ja:機内サービス|trans-title=In-flight Services|url=http://www.jal.co.jp/jex/dom/service.html|language=ja|publisher=JAL Express|access-date=2009-09-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Beverage Service|url=http://www.jal.co.jp/en/inflight/dom/drink/|publisher=[[Japan Airlines]]|access-date=2009-09-09|archive-date=2015-09-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150908205429/http://www.jal.co.jp/en/inflight/dom/drink/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
From March 27, 2011, passengers traveling in all classes could enjoy in-flight catering services on all flights.

=== In-flight entertainment ===
JAL Group's in-flight magazine, ''Skyward'', JAL Express's in-flight magazine ''JEX Letter,'' and in-flight shopping magazine ''JALSHOP'' were available on board. No newspaper or audio or video programs were available. ''Class J'' passengers could enjoy JAL C''lass J'' in-flight entertainment services where available.<ref name="inflt" /><ref>{{cite web|title=In-flight Service|url=http://www.jal.co.jp/en/inflight/dom/|publisher=[[Japan Airlines]]|access-date=2009-09-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130118055138/http://www.jal.co.jp/en/inflight/dom/|archive-date=2013-01-18|url-status=dead}}</ref>
After March 27, 2011, passengers in all classes could enjoy in-flight entertainment services on all of flights.

== See also ==
{{Portal|Japan|Companies|Aviation}}
*[[Transport in Japan#Air transport|Air transport in Japan]]
*[[List of airports in Japan]]
*[[List of Japanese companies]]
*[[Transport in Japan]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons category-inline}}
* {{official website|http://www.jal.co.jp/jex}} {{in lang|ja}}
* [http://www.jal.com/ Official website of JAL Japan Airlines]

<!-- Templates -->
{{JAL Group}}
{{Oneworld}}
{{Airlines of Japan}}

{{good article}}

<!-- Categories -->
[[Category:Airlines established in 1997]]
[[Category:Airlines disestablished in 2014]]
[[Category:Airline companies based in Tokyo]]
[[Category:Japan Airlines]]
[[Category:Defunct low-cost airlines]]
[[Category:Former Oneworld affiliate members]]