StarFlyer

Is StarFlyer safe?

Yes. StarFlyer has flown for 20 years, since March 2006, without a fatal accident or the loss of an aircraft, and its fleet of 11 Airbus A320s is younger than most in Japan. We score it 85, level with Solaseed Air and just above Air Do, the two other mid-sized airlines that sell seats through ANA.

The score would be higher without its record with the regulator. Japan's transport ministry (MLIT) has acted against StarFlyer twice since 2019, and the second case, in May 2026, was about a manager keeping a mistake quiet, which is the opposite of what a safety system needs.

Who flies StarFlyer flights?

StarFlyer does, under its own operating certificate and code (7G). Its home is Kitakyushu. In fiscal 2025 it flew 22,251 flights on six domestic routes, led by Haneda to Kitakyushu and Haneda to Fukuoka, with smaller routes to Kansai, Yamaguchi Ube, and from Chubu and Sendai to Fukuoka. Its Taipei routes were suspended all year.

Most flights also carry ANA flight numbers. Under our rules an event on such a flight counts here, not on ANA's page. ANA audits StarFlyer against IOSAIOSAThe IATA Operational Safety Audit, an international audit of an airline's safety management and operations. Every IATA member must pass it.More in the glossary standards about every two years, but StarFlyer is not an IATA member and has no IOSA registration of its own.

What accidents has StarFlyer had?

One, with no damage to the aircraft. On 16 January 2022, flight 87 from Haneda to Kitakyushu hit clear-air turbulence at about 28,000 feet over Kurashiki, near Okayama. The aircraft was jolted for about 25 seconds and a passenger broke a rib against the armrest. The Japan Transport Safety Board (JTSB) found the turbulence came from the jet stream in cloudless air, and suggested cabin crew make sure passengers wear their belts low and tight whenever seated. StarFlyer has since added turbulence advice to its safety video and briefings.

The JTSB lists no serious incident for StarFlyer, and the Aviation Safety Network has no other StarFlyer record.

Why did the regulator act against StarFlyer?

The 2026 case worries us more than the life jackets themselves. The ministry asked StarFlyer to make its safety management system work again, and the airline's own safety report says the warning showed that people were not reporting what they noticed. The same report admits two mandatory reports from 2024 surfaced only a year later.

Fiscal 2025 also brought 21 lesser "safety troubles". Two show maintenance slips: sensors on the nose gear fitted the wrong way round, so the gear doors would not close and the flight returned, and a part left off a nose wheel for 11 days of flying. None became a serious incident, and there was no alcohol case.

What does StarFlyer fly?

Only the Airbus A320 family. At 31 March 2026 StarFlyer had seven A320ceos with 150 seats, averaging 10 years 1 month, and four A320neos with 162 seats, averaging 1 year 3 months; the first neo arrived in June 2023. Every aircraft is a fly-by-wireFly-by-wireA flight control system in which the pilot's inputs go to computers, which then move the control surfaces. Many such systems also stop unsafe manoeuvres.More in the glossary jet of a current family, which puts the fleet well ahead of the 737-800 fleets of Solaseed and Skymark.

How to fly StarFlyer safely

The one injury StarFlyer has had came from clear-air turbulence in winter, when the jet stream runs strong over western Japan and gives pilots no visual warning. On the Haneda to Kitakyushu and Fukuoka routes, keep your belt fastened low and snug whenever you are in your seat, even with the sign off, and take hot drinks with the lid on, as the cabin crew now offer them. That small habit covers the main risk on this airline.

How we scored it

The accident record (92) has no deaths and no lost aircraft in 20 years, with one weather-caused injury. Oversight (86) reflects Japan's strong regulator without IOSA registrationIOSAThe IATA Operational Safety Audit, an international audit of an airline's safety management and operations. Every IATA member must pass it.More in the glossary. The fleet (84) is young and all Airbus. Serious incidents (66) are the weak point, with the 2019 recommendation and the 2026 warning. The environment scores 86. Overall 85.