View source for Air Do

{{Short description|Japanese regional airline}}
{{distinguish|Air Hokkaido}}
{{use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox airline
| airline = AIRDO Co., Ltd.<br />{{nobold|{{Nihongo2|株式会社エアドゥ}}<br />{{transliteration|ja|Kabushiki-gaisha Ea Du}}}}
| logo = Air Do.svg
| logo_size = 159
| image = Air Do JA612A 767-381ER HND 17-09-2024 (1).jpg
| caption = An Air Do [[767-300ER]] at [[Tokyo International Airport]]
| IATA = HD
| ICAO = ADO
| callsign = AIR DO
| parent = RegionalPlus Wings Corp.
| founded = {{ubl|
  | {{start date and age|1996|11|14}}<br />{{small|(as ''Hokkaido International Airlines'')}}<ref name="history">{{cite web|title=History|url=https://www.airdo.jp/en/corporate/info/history/|publisher=Air Do|access-date=2020-08-23}}</ref>
  | {{start date and age|2012|10|01}}<br />{{small|(as ''Air Do'')}}}}
| commenced = {{start date and age|1998|12|20}}<br />{{small|(as ''Hokkaido International Airlines'')}}<ref name="history" />
| headquarters = [[Sapporo]], [[Hokkaido]], Japan
| key_people = Takahiro Suzuki ([[President (corporate title)|President]] & [[Representative Director (Japan)|Representative Director]])
| bases = {{ubl|class=nowrap
  | [[New Chitose Airport|Sapporo–Chitose]]
  | [[Haneda Airport|Tokyo–Haneda]]}}
| frequent_flyer = My AIRDO
| lounge = 
| alliance = 
| fleet_size = 12
| destinations = 10
| num_employees = 1,025 ({{format date|2020|04|01}})<ref name="company">{{cite web|title=Company Information|url=https://www.airdo.jp/en/corporate/info/|publisher=Air Do|access-date=2020-08-23}}</ref>
| revenue = {{decrease}} [[Japanese yen|¥]]49 billion (FY 2014)<ref name="history" />
| website = {{URL|www.airdo.jp}}
}}

'''Air Do''' <!--Please refrain from adding the Japanese name to this section, as it have already been clearly specified in the Infobox. Reiterating the native name in the Lede is unnecessary and redundant.--> is a Japanese [[regional airline]] headquartered in [[Sapporo|Sapporo, Japan]]. It operates scheduled service between the islands of [[Honshu]] and [[Hokkaido]] in cooperation with [[All Nippon Airways]], from its hubs at [[New Chitose Airport]] in Sapporo and [[Haneda Airport]] in Tokyo.

== History ==
{{More citations needed section|date=May 2009}}
[[File:AIR DO head office building01.jpg|thumb|right|The Oak Sapporo Building in [[Sapporo]], the site of the airline's headquarters]]
The airline was founded as {{nihongo|'''Hokkaido International Airlines'''|北海道国際航空株式会社|Hokkaidō Kokusai Kōkū Kabushiki-gaisha}} in 1996 by {{nihongo|Teruo Hamada|[[:ja:浜田輝男|浜田輝男]]|''Hamada Teruo''}}, an entrepreneur in Hokkaido, shortly after the Japanese government approved a domestic [[airline deregulation]] policy that would allow carriers to freely set fares on domestic routes.<ref name="history" /> Hamada gathered investments from 29 other individuals who were interested in establishing a [[low-cost airline]] to compete with Japan's major domestic carriers ([[All Nippon Airways]], [[Japan Airlines]], and [[Japan Air System]]) on flights between Hokkaido cities and Tokyo. Additional capital was raised from [[Kyocera]], [[Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance]], [[Hokkaido Electric Power Company]] and other institutional investors, as well as from Hokkaido local governments seeking less expensive air service to Tokyo.

The company started flight operations on the Tokyo-Sapporo route, using the Air Do brand, in December 1998. Its first CEO was the former Japan-based manager of [[Virgin Atlantic]]. Maintenance and ground handling services were outsourced to [[Japan Airlines]]. Air Do enjoyed very high [[Passenger load factor|load factor]]s during its first few months of operation, as its fares were 60% to 70% of the walk-up fares offered by established airlines.

However, other airlines quickly adopted their own discounted advance purchase fares in the wake of Air Do's initial success, driving load factors down to around 50%. In 2000, the Hokkaido prefectural government injected more capital and installed one of its senior officials as head of the company. After being significantly impacted financially in the aftermath of the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]], and being denied additional financing from the Hokkaido prefectural government, Air Do entered Japanese corporate restructuring procedures in June 2002.

Air Do received new equity capital from a ''[[tokumei kumiai]]'' investment fund arranged by the [[Development Bank of Japan]] (DBJ), in which [[All Nippon Airways]] was a key investor. This began a number of business relationships between Air Do and ANA, including ANA [[codesharing]] on Air Do operated flights and Air Do leasing additional 767 and 737 aircraft from ANA.<ref name="CAPA">{{cite web|url=https://centreforaviation.com/analysis/reports/air-do-product-of-japans-quixotic-airline-market-likely-to-remain-independent-pending-reform-128487|title=Air Do, product of Japan's quixotic airline market, likely to remain independent pending reform|website=CAPA - Centre for Aviation|publisher=Informa Markets|date=2013-09-17|access-date=2020-08-23}}</ref> The fund was dissolved in September 2008 and DBJ, ANA and other investors became direct shareholders in Air Do.

On October 1, 2012, the company's legal name was changed from Hokkaido International Airlines Co., Ltd. to AIRDO Co., Ltd.<ref name="rename">{{cite web|url=http://www.aviationwire.jp/archives/9575|title=エア・ドウ、社名もAIRDOに統一.|trans-title=Air Do: company name changed to AIRDO|language=JA|last=Yoshikawa|first=Tadayuki|website=Aviation Wire|access-date=2013-08-16}}</ref>

Air Do was sanctioned by the Japanese government in December 2014 for promoting a first officer to captain despite poor performance in training. Following the business improvement order, Air Do in January 2015 moved to eliminate its lowest-yielding routes to Niigata, Toyama, Fukushima and Komatsu.<ref name="2015t">{{cite news|title=エア・ドゥ、４路線から撤退検討|trans-title=Air Do considers withdrawal from four routes|language=JA|url=http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXLASFB16H1B_W5A110C1EAF000/|access-date=2015-01-19|publisher=Nihon Keizai Shimbun|date=2015-01-16}}</ref>

In May 2021, Air Do and [[Solaseed Air]] announced their intentions to merge as a result of operating difficulties during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref name=kyodo041022>{{cite web |url=https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2022/10/971a56fd614e-japans-airdo-solaseed-air-merge-as-travel-demand-hit-by-pandemic.html|title=Japan's Airdo, Solaseed Air merge as travel demand hit by pandemic|date=3 October 2022|publisher=Kyodo News|access-date=4 October 2022}}</ref> In July 2021, Air Do shareholders approved a proposal to issue US$63.2 million of preferred shares to improve finances prior to the business integration.<ref>{{Cite web|last=日本放送協会|title=エア・ドゥ株主総会 財務改善に70億円の優先株発行を承認|url=https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20210629/k10013109821000.html|access-date=2021-07-08|website=NHKニュース|date=June 29, 2021 }}</ref> The new holding company for both airlines, {{Ill|RegionalPlus Wings|ja|リージョナルプラスウイングス}}, was officially established on October 3, 2022.<ref name=kyodo041022/>

== Corporate affairs ==
The airline's headquarters are located in the {{nihongo|Oak Sapporo Building|オーク札幌ビル|''Ōku Sapporo Biru''}} in [[Chūō-ku, Sapporo|Chūō-ku]], [[Sapporo]].<ref name="company" />

The company's president is Susumu Kusano, who was appointed to the position on June 27, 2019.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://centreforaviation.com/news/air-do-appoints-new-president-and-ceo-916907 |title=Air do appoints new president and CEO |date=2019-06-30 |website=CAPA - Centre for Aviation |publisher=Informa Markets}}</ref>

== Destinations ==
Over its history, Air Do has operated scheduled services to the following destinations in Japan {{as of|2021|5|lc=y}}:<ref name="timetable">{{cite web|title=Timetable|url=https://www.airdo.jp/en/plan/timetable/|publisher=Air Do|access-date=23 August 2020}}</ref><ref name="destinations">{{cite web|url=https://www.airdo.jp/en/plan/destinations/|title=Destinations|publisher=Air Do|access-date=2020-08-23}}</ref>

{|class="sortable wikitable"
|-
! style="background:navy; color:white;"|Region
! style="background:navy; color:white;"|City
! style="background:navy; color:white;"|Airport
! style="background:navy; color:white;"|Notes
! style="background:navy; color:white;" class="unsortable"|Ref
|-
|rowspan=6| [[Hokkaido]]
| [[Asahikawa]]
| [[Asahikawa Airport]]
|align=center|
|align=center|
|-
| [[Hakodate]]
| [[Hakodate Airport]]
|align=center|
|align=center|
|-
| [[Kushiro, Hokkaido|Kushiro]]
| [[Kushiro Airport]]
|align=center|
|align=center|
|-
| [[Sapporo]]
| [[New Chitose Airport]]
|{{Airline hub}}
|align=center|
|-
| [[Obihiro, Hokkaido|Obihiro]]
| [[Tokachi–Obihiro Airport]]
|align=center|
|align=center|
|-
| [[Ōzora, Hokkaido|Ōzora]]
| [[Memanbetsu Airport]]
|align=center|
|align=center|
|-
|rowspan=10| [[Honshu]]
| [[Fukushima (city)|Fukushima]]
| [[Fukushima Airport]]
| {{Terminated}}
|align=center| <ref name="2015t"/>
|-
| [[Hiroshima]]
| [[Hiroshima Airport]]
| {{Terminated}}
|align=center| <ref name="history"/>
|-
| [[Kobe]]
| [[Kobe Airport]]
|align=center|
|align=center|
|-
| [[Nagoya]]
| [[Chubu Centrair International Airport]]
|align=center|
|align=center|
|-
| [[Okayama]]
| [[Okayama Airport]]
| {{Terminated}}
|align=center| <ref name="history"/>
|-
| [[Sendai]]
| [[Sendai Airport]]
|align=center|
|align=center|
|-
| [[Tokyo]]
| [[Haneda Airport]]
| {{Airline hub|Base}}
|align=center|
|-
| [[Toyama, Toyama|Toyama]]
| [[Toyama Airport]]
| {{Terminated}}
|align=center| <ref name="2015t"/>
|-
| [[Komatsu, Ishikawa|Komatsu]]
| [[Komatsu Airport]]
| {{Terminated}}
|align=center| <ref name="2015t"/>
|-
| [[Niigata (city)|Niigata]]
| [[Niigata Airport]]
| {{Terminated}}
|align=center| <ref name="2015t"/>
|-
|rowspan=1| [[Kyushu]]
| [[Fukuoka]]
| [[Fukuoka Airport]]
|align=center|
|align=center| <ref name="2015t"/>
|-
|}

===Codeshare agreements===
Air Do has a [[codeshare agreement]] with [[All Nippon Airways]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ana.co.jp/en/us/plan-book/codeshare-flights/airdo/|title=AIRDO Codeshare Information|website=All Nippon Airways|date=2020-05-01}}</ref>

== Fleet ==
===Current fleet===
[[File:AirDo B767-300ER (JA98AD) (25977609581).jpg|thumb|Air Do Boeing 767-300ER]]
{{As of|2025|10}}, Air Do operates an all-[[Boeing]] fleet composed of the following aircraft:<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Global Airline Guide 2025 - Air Do |magazine=Airliner World |date=September 2025 |page=63}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; border-collapse:collapse; text-align:center;"
|+ Air Do fleet
|- style="background:#ccf;"
!Aircraft
!In service
!Orders
!Passengers
!Notes
|-
|[[Boeing 737-700]]
|8
|—
|144
|
|-
|[[Boeing 767-300ER]]
|4
|—
|288
|
|-
!Total
!12
!—
!colspan=2|
|}

===Former fleet===
[[File:Boeing 737-54K, Hokkaido International Airlines - Air Do AN1677343.jpg|thumb|Former Air Do [[Boeing 737-500]], in previous Hokkaido International Airlines livery (2010).]]
Air Do and its predecessor Hokkaido International Airlines has previously operated the following aircraft types:{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; border-collapse:collapse; text-align:center;"
|+ Air Do retired fleet
|- style="background:#ccf;"
!Aircraft
!Total
!Introduced
!Retired
!Notes
|-
|[[Boeing 737-400]]
|2
|2005
|2009
|
|-
|[[Boeing 737-500]]
|7
|2008
|2016
|
|-
|[[Boeing 767-200]]
|1
|2003
|2005
|
|-
|[[Boeing 767-300]]
|4
|2005
|2022
|
|-
|}

==Frequent-flyer program==
Air Do operates a [[frequent-flyer program]] called ''My AIRDO''. Points under the program are accrued based on the fare amount when purchasing tickets for travel with the airline, with registration to join the program available for Japanese residents.<ref name="FFP-1">{{cite web|title=My AIRDO|url=http://www.airdo.jp/my_airdo/promo/index.html|publisher=Air Do|access-date=2015-08-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151013175640/http://www.airdo.jp/my_airdo/promo/index.html|archive-date=2015-10-13|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="FFP-2">{{cite web|url=https://www.airdo.jp/en/myairdo/|title=About My AIRDO|publisher=Air Do|access-date=2020-08-23}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commonscat|Air Do}}
*[https://www.airdo.jp/en/ Official website]
*[https://www.airdo.jp/ Official website] {{in lang|ja}}

{{Portal bar|Japan|Companies|Aviation}}
{{Airlines of Japan}}

[[Category:Regional airlines of Japan]]
[[Category:Airlines established in 1996]]
[[Category:Japanese companies established in 1996]]
[[Category:Low-cost carriers of Japan]]
[[Category:Companies based in Sapporo]]
[[Category:Japanese brands]]
[[Category:Transport in Hokkaido]]