Ryukyu Air Commuter

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Ryukyu Air Commuter Co., Ltd.
琉球エアーコミューター株式会社
Ryūkyū Eā Komyūtā Kabushiki-gaisha
Ryukyu Air Commuter.svg
IATA ICAO Callsign
RYUKYU
FoundedDecember 24, 1985;38 years ago (1985-12-24)
Commenced operationsFebruary 17, 1987;37 years ago (1987-02-17)
Hubs Naha Airport
Fleet size5
Destinations9
Parent company Japan Transocean Airlines (74.5%)
Headquarters Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan
Key peopleSusumu Namihira (President & CEO) [1]
Website www.rac-okinawa.com

Ryukyu Air Commuter(RAC) is a Japanese regional airline headquartered in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. [2] It operates domestic passenger services from the island of Okinawa to other islands of Okinawa Prefecture and the Amami Islands, Kagoshima Prefecture. It is owned by Japan Transocean Air (74.5%), Okinawa Prefecture (6.3%), Minamidaito (4,8%) Kumejima (4,3%) Kitadaito (4,0%) and other shareholders (6,1%). [2]

Contents

History

A RAC Bombardier Dash 8 100 in the old livery, landing at Naha Airport, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. (2009) RAC Bombardier DHC8-100(JA8972) (4235899933).jpg
A RAC Bombardier Dash 8 100 in the old livery, landing at Naha Airport, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. (2009)
A RAC Bombardier Dash 8 Q300 landing at Naha Airport, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. (2009) RAC Bombardier DHC8-Q300(JA8936) (4244003305).jpg
A RAC Bombardier Dash 8 Q300 landing at Naha Airport, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. (2009)

Ryuku Air Commuter was established on December 24, 1985, with help from joint investments from the local government and local businesses. The following year they received the air transport license and the airline started operating flights between Naha and Kerama on the 17th of February 1987. This route was operated with a Britten-Norman BN-2B Islander seating up to nine people. [3] The next route introduced by the airline was  from Naha to Aguni and commenced on December 20th, 1989.  

November 16th, 1992, Ryuku Air Commuter took over two De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft from Japan Transocean Airlines (then known as ‘Southwest Air Lines’), with a capacity of 19 seats this aircraft type had a significantly higher capacity than the BN-2B. [4] With the introduction of these new aircraft, the airline was able to increase its operations and also operate out of other airports than just Naha. With this growth in the operations the airline started to grow into a commuter airline with wide network of the islands within the prefecture, with the main hub being from the island of Okinawa (Naha Airport).

As a replacement for the DHC-6 Twin Otter the DeHavilland Bombardier Dash 8 100 (DHC-8-100) was introduced in 1997, allowing for even greater capacity by seating up to 39 seats. [4] With this larger aircraft the airline started two new routes that same year from Naha to Yoron and Kumejima. [3]

In the following years the airline would see an expansion of their network throughout the Okinawa Prefecture and expanding their fleet with more modern variants of the DHC-8 aircraft. In 2015, the airline signed a firm purchase agreement for five Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 passenger/cargo combi aircraft, following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in 2014. It became the launch customer for this new variant aircraft upon delivery in 2016. [5] The final Bombardier Dash 8-Q300 flight was on 31 January 2018.

Destinations

Scheduled destinations (as of November 2019): [6]

CityIATAICAOAirportNotesRefs
Amami ASJRJKA Amami Airport Terminated [3]
Hateruma HTRRORH Hateruma Airport Terminated
Ishigaki ISGROIG New Ishigaki Airport
Kitadaitō KTDRORK Kitadaitō Airport
Kumejima UEOROKJ Kumejima Airport
Minami-Daito MMDROMD Minami-Daito Airport
Miyakojima MMYROMY Miyako Airport
Naha OKAROAH Naha Airport Hub
Tarama TRARORT Tarama Airport
Yonaguni OGNROYN Yonaguni Airport
Yoron RNJRORY Yoron Airport
Zamami KJPROKR Kerama Airport Terminated [7]

Fleet

Current fleet

RAC Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 Combi Ryukyu Air Commuter at Amami Airport.jpg
RAC Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 Combi

As of June 2024, Ryukyu Air Commuter operates the following aircraft: [4]

Ryukyu Air Commuter Fleet
AircraftIn FleetOrdersPassengers
(Economy)
De Havilland Dash 8 Q400 Combi 550 + Cargo
Total5

Former fleet

Ryukyu Air Commuter has previously operated the following aircraft: [4]

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. "RAC Company Profile" . Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  2. 1 2 "会社概要 | 琉球エアーコミューター". rac-okinawa.com. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
  3. 1 2 3 "RACの歴史 | 琉球エアーコミューター". rac-okinawa.com. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Ryukyu Air Commuter Fleet Details and History". Planespotters.net. 2024-06-12. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
  5. "Q400 Combi Variant Launched". Airliner World: 19. November 2015.
  6. "Route Network," Ryukyu Air Commuter
  7. "Kerama Airport Guide [ permanent dead link ]," Japan Airlines

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