Japan Transocean Air

"Southwest Air Lines" redirects here. For the United States airline, see Southwest Airlines. For other uses, see Southwest Airlines (disambiguation).

Japan Transocean Air (JTA) is an airline based in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.^[3] It operates domestic services on behalf of Japan Airlines. Its main base is Naha Airport.^[4] From 1967 until 1993, the airline was known as Southwest Air Lines.

Japan Transocean Air Co., Ltd.
日本トランスオーシャン航空株式会社
Nihon Toransuōshan Kōkū Kabushiki-gaisha

IATA ICAO Call sign NU JTA JAI OCEAN[1]
Founded	June 20, 1967; 58 years ago (1967-06-20) (as Southwest Air Lines)
Commenced operations	July 1967; 58 years ago (1967-07)
Hubs	Naha Airport
Focus cities	New Ishigaki Airport
Alliance	Oneworld (affiliate)
Fleet size	14
Destinations	15
Parent company	JAL Group (72.8%)
Headquarters	Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan
Key people	Nozomi Noguchi (President & CEO)
Employees	814 (31 March 2023) [2]
Website	www.jal.co.jp/jta

History

A former Southwest Air Lines Boeing 737-200

A former JTA Boeing 737-400 in former Southwest Air Lines livery at Chūbu Centrair International Airport, Nagoya, Japan (2013)

A former JTA Boeing 737-400 (2004)

The airline was established on 20 June 1967 as Southwest Air Lines (南西航空, Nansei Kōkū), and started operations in July 1967. It changed its name in July 1993. It had 814 employees (in March 2023) and is owned by Japan Airlines (51.1%), Naha Airport Terminal (17%), Okinawa Prefecture (12.9%) and others (19.1%)^[4] It flew Convair 240s until new capital from JAL allowed it to upgrade to NAMC YS-11s, and eventually Boeing 737s. JTA occasionally lends aircraft to JAL in the event of equipment failure. JTA also provides maintenance services for JAL Group Boeing 737-400 aircraft. JTA owns 74.5% of Ryukyu Air Commuter. At one time the head office of Southwest Air Lines was at 306-1 Kagamizu in Naha.^[5]

Destinations

JTA serves the following destinations:^[6]

Island	City	Airport	Notes	Refs
Kyushu	Fukuoka	Fukuoka Airport
	Kagoshima	Kagoshima Airport	Terminated
Honshu	Komatsu	Komatsu Airport
	Nagoya	Chubu Centrair International Airport
	Okayama	Okayama Airport
	Osaka	Kansai International Airport
		Itami Airport	Terminated
	Tokyo	Haneda Airport	Terminated
Ryukyu Islands	Ishigaki	Ishigaki Airport	Airport Closed
		New Ishigaki Airport	Focus city
	Kumejima	Kumejima Airport
	Miyakojima	Miyako Airport
	Naha	Naha Airport	Hub
	Shimojishima	Shimojishima Airport	Terminated	[7]
	Yonaguni	Yonaguni Airport	Terminated
Shikoku	Kōchi	Kōchi Airport	Terminated
	Matsuyama	Matsuyama Airport	Terminated

Codeshare agreements

Japan Transocean Air currently has a codeshare agreement with the following airlines:

• Japan Airlines

Interline agreements

Japan Transocean Air also has interline agreement with the following airlines:

• Hawaiian Airlines^[8]
• Emirates^[9]

Fleet

Current fleet

JTA Boeing 737-800

As of June 2024^[update], Japan Transocean Air operates an all-Boeing 737-800 fleet composed of the following aircraft:^{[citation needed]}

Japan Transocean Air fleet

Aircraft Type	In fleet	Orders	Passengers			Notes
			J	Y	Total
Boeing 737-800	14	—	20	145	165[10]	Shared operation with JAL.
Total	14	—

Former fleet

Japan Transocean Air has previously operated the following aircraft:

• NAMC YS-11^[7]
• Boeing 737-200^{[citation needed]}
• Boeing 737-400^{[citation needed]}
• Boeing 767-200^{[citation needed]}

Accidents and incidents

Since the airline's foundation, there has only been one accident which was under the former Southwest Air Lines brand.

• On 26 August 1982, Southwest Air Lines Flight 611, a Boeing 737-2Q3, registration JA8444, overran the runway at Ishigaki Airport and was destroyed. None of the 138 passengers and crew were killed but some were injured during the emergency evacuation.^[11]