Hello, my name is Ayumi URATANI, a second-year student in the Department of Global Tourism Studies. I am going to report a special lecture held on campus called, “Trends in the Japanese Airline Market and Peach’s Business Strategy”, conducted in the class, Airline Business on Monday the 15th of July 2019. The special lecture was conducted by Mr. Satoru ENDO, Chief Corporate Planning Officer of Peach Aviation Limited. There were around 200 participants including faculty, staff, and students of Kyoto University of Foreign Studies (also including junior college and international students). In addition, Mei HAYASHI and Sohta HANAFUSA, who belong to the Department Global Tourism Studies, got to host the event on stage as MCs.

Mr. ENDO explained about the Japanese airline market’s transition and trends, and answered the question, “What is an LCC?”, and covered topics of Peach’s business strategy and future conception, and Kansai’s regional model to improve revitalization during his Powerpoint aided presentation. In addition, he also talked about the opportunity to enter the airline industry, doing business with ANA, secondment to Ministry of Foreign Affairs, his career at Peach, the severity of the airline industry, and overall ideas about being a member of society. When he talked about the severity of the airline industry, he said that “90% of an airline’s work is conducted at the site, and it is so hard for both physical and mental aspects.” I noticed that the work seems demanding but the people working in the airline industry make big efforts to make using aircraft safely, and my awareness of the industry changed. About goals for the future, he said that “in case of that you cannot work at the sort of occupation or corporation you want, you should be interested in various things, and you also ought to think about what you would like to do to get a job or how you can contribute to society to enter a large corporation.” I realized that joining the company I want is not the final goal in my life, but it is rather important how I can contribute to the corporation and society, and it is also important to have a wider perspective more and more. Thanks to that, I could face my future by finding out what I can do through this kind of work.

Peach as a company has stated a mission that “Peach serves as a bridge promoting the exchange of ideas, information, and cultural understanding between people.” Peach’s business strategy, which focuses on inbound travel from Asia, promotes a number of campaigns to grow airport and public transportation use, and they want to contribute to local communities. In the Department of Global Tourism Studies, there are so many students who are interested in revitalization through tourism. That’s why there were the students who were interested in Peach’s business strategy. After the special lecture, participants who belong to the Department of Global Tourism Studies and Global Studies along with faculty, asked him various questions. Some of the questions were about airline jobs and “How cost reduction is possible even though transportation maintenance cost is so high?” Students were impressed by his way of life and his words like “never give up” and “be optimistic”. Finally, all participants took pictures with the guest speaker while telling us how to do the “Peach pose”, which is making your hands into the shape of a peach, and he also taught us what our face cannot hide if we make the pause next to the face.

I took part in this special lecture, and it was an opportunity to think about how I can contribute to society during my study and in the future. I knew that the tourism industry can contribute to society and the world through Peach’s business strategy and Peach’s corporate philosophy. When I hunt for a job, I would like to face my future while keeping in mind Mr. ENDO’s words. We appreciate him taking time out of his busy schedule to visit our university. We also appreciate the cooperation of Peach Aviation Limited.