Good afternoon and welcome back to another video. Today we're going to be flying on
Skymark airlines to Tokyo. I last flew Skymark over two and a half years ago
kind of at the start of the pandemic when tighter restricts were in place. Fast forward two years
and many of those restrictions have since been rescinded so let's see how Skymark fares in 2022.
Today I'm starting in Fukuoka on a very very early spring day at least it's not humid but it's
definitely damp outside so let's head inside and uh let's check out Skymark as we go from A to B!
Today was certainly less than pleasant outside. I had hoped to start this video
at the Fukuoka castle ruins a nice park that overlooks the city; however the rain became a
little too strong to make this work. At least the city has covered arcades and the Tenjin
chikagai - the underground mall - so getting to the airport was a reasonably dry experience.
As I continue my way to the subway station I once again welcome you back
to another video and just a reminder if you need to please use the captions where from time to time
I include Easter eggs (EE) throughout the video. Anyway this was my last video of march 2022 and
we had a great week! We started in Nagoya riding on the Ise - Shima liner, we flew over to Fukuoka
with Fuji Dream airlines and then we experienced the wonderful Yufuin no Mori a wonderful train in
Kyushu. But like all good things, they comes to an end and it's time to go home. This underground
mall is actually fairly extensive. There's two of these corridors that run parallel to each other
and they connect to the subway station which makes getting around pretty easy.
So I made my way through the gates and I jumped on the train to the airport.
EE: The underground mall is one of my favorite in Japan... Sapporo has a good one too!
Skymark's check-in is located on the north end of the terminal near Peach and other smaller
carriers. There were a few individuals checking in when I arrived so I was finished checking in in
two shakes of a lamb's tail and I made my way upstairs where I found a pleasant surprise :)
So I had a little bit of luck today! There's behind me there's a pop-up Starflyer shop.
They're another great domestic airline in Japan and they give you chocolates on the plane and at
the shop behind me they sell they sell the box of chocolates for like 500 yen. So I picked one up.
Very friendly and they saw I have a Starflyer tag on my bag
and they saw that and they said 'oh have a postcard too' so I said 'all right'.
So very friendly staff another great airline and a nice little surprise at the airport today.
All right so we have a little bit of time I think today I'm going to check out one of these
pay-per-use lounges. I never used them before and I think I'm going to use the
Tsutaya day for use lounge and see what it's like so let's go in and check it out!
EE: These lounges exist outside of airports through out Japan. Great for an afternoon!
To access a lounge simply tell the clerk how long you'd like to stay
and whether you want the normal or alcohol plan. You'll get a receipt with a barcode which you
can scan and pay on your way out. I kept things light today and went with the non-alcoholic plan.
The lounge isn't terribly large but it's a nice cozy quiet corner of the airport
it has a bit more of a relaxed homey feel compared to some other lounges I've been in and you get
some enjoyable views of the outside. There's a selection of beverages and snacks to choose from
if you select the alcohol plan you have access to this fridge in addition to the draught beer.
I helped myself to some refreshments and then took it easy for the remainder of my hour stay.
Right so that's one of the pay-per-views lounges at Fukuoka airport and
what a nice calm relaxing lounge exactly what I needed and it only came to about 10 bucks for one
hour so I was able to grab some refreshments and relax close my eyes for about 40 minutes.
Perfect thing to do on a Saturday afternoon. Anyway we have about an hour before we start
to board so this this uh this lounge is located on the south part of the terminal the security
is on the north side so I'm going to slowly make my way there and just make my way to the gate.
EE: The north security was really busy, so I walked ALL the way back to the south security...then to my gate.
today we're departing from gate four and here's my one hiccup for the day:
This sign has a flight to Tokyo leaving at 4:20 and no information on the current flight
which is boarding. The gate has two pathways for passengers. The one on the right is being used
and I didn't clue in to check that screen so I thought I had more time than I actually
did (oops!). In fact, those passengers you see boarding on the right side of the gate
are boarding my flight the one leaving at 3:20 instead of 4:20 and I was completely oblivious
to this fact until I heard my name over the PA. It's an honest mistake and just one of
those things that can happen especially when you're traveling in a foreign country. But I
managed to get on the aircraft and quickly make my way to 27H my seat in the rear of the plane.
EE: In Japan it can be tough to hear your name over the PA b/c they may katakana it lol
Skymark 737s are configured in a single class with 177 seats through 29 rows with
a 31 inch seat pitch the same as Fuji dream airlines which I flew a few days prior.
The single cabin is nice and bright with beige seats.
This plate wasn't terribly full perhaps one third and I had a row of seats to myself.
This particular aircraft is about 12 years old delivered to Skymark in November 2009;
however these seats are newer replacing the older blue seats when they refurbished the cabin.
They are a notable improvement. Not only do they benefit from
newer material but they also contribute to the visual aesthetics of the cabin.
Seatback houses the tray table and pocket below. With the 31 inch seat pitch there's enough
space to store a small item beneath anything large than this would be better stowed above.
The tables are adjustable clicking into place providing a little more rigidity.
Also there is a universal outlet under the seat.
This is a new feature as they were not installed with the original blue seats
and it is a welcomed one. And above like many 737s you'll have the air control and reading light.
Skymark is classified as a low-cost carrier and like many of them there's no wi-fi or in-flight
entertainment. And once again if you're a new viewer I invite you to subscribe
for more aviation and travel related content :)
It was a little bumpy soon after takeoff, enough to halt the drink service partly through
but once it resumed I went with a coffee. Skymark's touch is providing KitKat during their
in-flight service. The plane was not so full and the attendants provided two for each passengers
Only coffee is provided free of charge. They have a nice selection from their buy on board menu
all 100 yen about 75 cents which is quite possibly the best value you can find on a budget airline!
Coffee in hand, it was time to sit back and enjoy the best in-flight entertainment!
And just before we land I checked out one of the lavatories in the rear of the aircraft.
Skymark is a great budget airline to get around Japan and very convenient since they
fly into Haneda. Customer service in Japan is top notch and it's no different on this airline
even seeing a goofy foreigner with a camera on board. One cabin attendant came up to me
during the flight. We had a little chat and she showed me the flight plan and route we took.
When we disembarked they offered yet another KitKat to passengers.
These little touches don't go unnoticed and I'm sure they're equally excited that once
again they can offer and provide an enjoyable flying experience.
The cost of this flight came to 14 900 yen or 67% of a one-way non-reserved shinkansen ticket.
Anyway I think that about does it for today. Everything from the lounge, to the flight,
to the friendly service made this a very enjoyable trip.
Sometimes when we travel things don't always go to plan but when they do it provides a very
positive and exciting experience and it's days like this which is why I love traveling so much.
So let us know what you thought about Skymark airlines or perhaps you want to
share your most memorable flight. Thanks for watching and I'll see you in the next episode