NokScoot will start its daily flights to Tokyo in June in an announcement hailed by Japan to boost the already booming destination for Thai travellers.
The budget airline said on Monday it will use a Boeing 777-200 for the Don Mueang-Narita route to be operational on June 1.
"It's been a long time coming, but our flights to the Land of the Rising Sun are finally set for take-off soon," NokScoot chief executive officer Yodchai Sudhidhnkul said in a statement.
NokScoot is a joint venture between Nok Air and Scoot of Singapore.
Japan will be the third East Asian destination for the no-frills carrier after China and Taiwan. It has direct flights from Bangkok to Tianjin, Nanjing and Qingdao in China, and the Taiwanese capital of Taipei.
Japan is a top choice for Thai tourists after a visa-free policy in 2013. Last year, 987,000 Thais visited Japan and the numbers could break the one-million mark this year, Kasikorn Research Center says.
Eigo Onum, the executive director of the Japan National Tourism Organisation's Bangkok office, welcomed the entry of the airline into Japan to foster tourism.
"Japan is attracting Thai visitors in droves, lured by the prospect of experiencing a myriad of uniquely Japanese adventures year-round," he said.
NokScoot is the second budget airline flying to Japan after Thai AirAsia X.
