Japan’s civil aviation industry is about to enter a new era with the opening of Kansai International Airport’s Low Cost Carrier (LCC) terminal on October 28.

 

Significantly, this will become the country’s first LCC terminal to offer flights to both domestic and international destinations.

Built by Kansai International Airport Co Ltd (KIAC), the owner and operator of Kansai International Airport, duty free shopping will form an important part of the LCC terminal’s airside facilities for departing international passengers.

Shopping facilities in the international departure hall will include two duty free shops and one 150sq m tax free store.

KIAC’s retail arm, Kansai Airport Agency Co Ltd (KAA), will operate the large 720sq m duty free shop and the facing tax free store. KAA has appointed Japan Airport Terminal Co Ltd (Jatco), Japan’s largest duty free operator, to manage the company’s LCC terminal duty free shop.

 

In addition, a small duty free shop of about 30sq m in area will be operated by Peach, the airline that will use the LCC terminal for its domestic and international flight operations.

 

[Above: Artist’s impression of Kansai Airport LCC terminal’s duty free shop].

 

NEW RETAIL DISPLAY APPROACH

In an exclusive interview with The Business, Masao Orui, Director of Jatco’s Duty Free Business Division said: “We are jointly developing the duty free shop layout with KAA. We are told the LCC terminal will be purely for Peach. Next year we expect there will be 10 to 15 international flights a day,” he said.

 

Kansai Airport’s LCC terminal is the first of its kind to open at a mainland airport in Japan and is expected to create a benchmark for LCC terminals scheduled to open at Narita Airport and possibly other Japanese airports in future.

 

“The liquor and tobacco and perfume and cosmetics product selection will be more or less the same as in Kansai Airport’s main international terminal, but we have agreed with KAA that for generic products we should try new retail display concepts like going for the category first and then the brands,” Orui said.

 

See exclusive interview in the October issue of The Travel Retail Business.