Flight Review: StarFlyer 7G23 Tokyo to KIX and 7G24 Osaka to HND
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A couple weeks ago, I had to travel to Osaka for work. I was paying my own way, so the goal was to get there as cheaply as possible. Ordinarily, one might take the Shinkansen to Osaka, as it allows for views of Japan and the chance to stop in other places if you’ve got a JR Pass. However, the Shinkansen can take a while, so I decided to fly, and went with an airline so cheap, I’d never heard of it before.
The StarFlyer experience at Haneda Airport
StarFlyer is a budget carrier within Japan that offers codeshares with ANA. They fly out of Haneda, which is about an hour closer to my house than Narita. The round-trip cost 22,040 yen, or $135.92.
My original plan was to go carry-on only since I’d only be there a week, but I found out one reason why StarFlyer is so cheap: they only allow for one personal item on board, not a carry-on bag AND a personal item like most airlines. Since I don’t leave home without my trusty backpack, I made sure to get to the airport early to check my bag.
We mentioned in our review of another flight that Haneda can get very, very crowded, and the security lines can be long. However, that was for the international terminal. For domestic flights, it turns out, two hours early is about two hours earlier than you need to arrive. I was the only person in line to check my bag at StarFlyer, and the only person in line at the dedicated StarFlyer security line. The whole process took less than 10 minutes. Oh, and did you know you don’t have to take off your wedding ring at airport security? I didn’t. I’m glad I know now.
The HND domestic terminal has plenty of food options, including sandwiches, udon, unagi, and sushi if you’re willing to walk a ways and pay a bit. There’s a lounge that’s free for holders of certain credit cards, but only if you have the Japanese version of the card, not an American card. You can also pay like 8 bucks to get in, but it didn’t look worth it to me, so instead I went to a coffee joint and got a breakfast sandwich and iced latte to go, so that I could sit in the terminal and watch World Cup on TV. The sandwich was insanely hot, so hot I couldn’t eat it for like 20 minutes. The coffee was okay. Flamenco guitar music played at the gate. Pocari Sweat was only 194 yen at the little convenience store, not bad for an airport. All in all, I was impressed by the domestic terminal. Sometimes you get past security and find it’s slim pickings when it comes to food and drink, but HND had a lot of choices.
StarFlyer does boarding in an interesting way. You can select your seat when you check in 24 hours before the flight, and your position in the row determines your boarding group. Whereas most airlines go front to back or back to front, StarFlyer goes window, middle, aisle, so the aisle seats like me all board last. This was efficient, and I really liked not having to get up to let someone through once I was sitting down.
The flight experience on StarFlyer
The seats on StarFlyer are surprisingly soft and roomy. I had a ton of space at my feet, so much that I may have been able to put my backpack there if I’d wanted, which is more than I could say for Singapore Airlines, even their Premium Economy.
You get a screen, but what’s the point? The flight is only an hour and 15 minutes. They don’t give you earphones, but you can ask for them. I didn’t bother, because the only things available to watch were Japanese travel TV shows, and I prefer to rock out on short flights.
They came around with drinks, and I asked for a coffee. They not only gave me a lid for my coffee, but a little chocolate as well. Very nice of them.
When we arrived (early), my butt was not sore. That’s a victory around here. The bags were put on the carousel very quickly, so I got out of the airport in no time. All in all, considering the price, it had been a great experience.
The flight back: 7G24 KIX to HND
On the way back, I first had to get to Kansai Airport. To do so, I took the Limousine Bus from Umeda for 1,800 yen. The bus terminal is very close to a Burger King and Taco Bell, and for personal reasons, I will not divulge whether or not I took advantage of this. The bus takes about an hour and is perfectly comfortable.
At KIX, once again, there was no one at security, or in the terminal. It was deserted. There is a place that serves various Japanese foods, some souvenir stores where you can get Black Thunder and other Japanese treats, and a St. Marc Cafe. I went there, wanting to get a drink to sip while I read my Kindle. They didn’t have OJ, just apple juice and “Mixed Juice.”
“What’s in the mixed juice?” I asked.
“Apple and mixed juice base,” the lady said.
I prefer to know what’s in the juice I drink, so I asked for an iced latte. She asked if I wanted small, medium, or large.
Now, as a coffee boy, I know that it’s important to ask how many shots of espresso are in each size. At Starbucks, the tall gets one shot, grande gets two, and venti ALSO gets two, so if you order a venti, you’re only getting extra milk. I asked how many shots of espresso each size had. The ladies conferred with each other confusedly.
“We fill to here,” said one, pointing to a line on the cup.
“But how much espresso? How many shots?” I asked. They looked at each other.
“No shots,” she said. “No espresso. We fill from that.”
She pointed to a big tank, like when you order fruit punch at McDonald’s. Some gray liquid swished around in there. Apparently, when you order an iced latte from this place, the coffee portion of it is just this coffee-like sludge, no actual espresso involved. I bought one anyway so I could sit down. It was not good.
On the flight back, I was again in an aisle seat, with no one next to me. I stretched out. The leg room on these planes is fantastic. We got into HND with no problems. I was well-rested and ready to see the ungrateful dog who acted like he hadn’t noticed I was gone for a week.
Verdict: how is StarFlyer when flying within Japan?
I’ve flown some crappy airlines before. Ryanair. Others. I expected this to be bad like that, but it wasn’t. I had tons of room, the flights were on time, the service was personable, and everything ran smoothly. I have no complaints. If I have to go to Osaka again, I will absolutely take these same flights to save money. If you’re traveling within Japan, I’d recommend StarFlyer. They get the job done.
