View source for Ryukyu Air Commuter

{{Short description|Regional airline of Japan}}
{{Infobox airline
| airline = Ryukyu Air Commuter Co., Ltd.<br />{{nobold|{{nihongo2|琉球エアーコミューター株式会社}}<br />{{transliteration|ja|Ryūkyū Eā Komyūtā Kabushiki-gaisha}}}}
| logo = Ryukyu Air Commuter.svg
| logo_size = 
| image = Ryukyu Air Commuter Bombardier DHC8-Q400CC (JA82RC) (cropped).jpg
| IATA = RC
| ICAO = RAC
| callsign = RYUKYU
| parent = {{nowrap|[[Japan Transocean Air]] (74.5%)}}
| founded = {{start date and age|1985|12|24}}
| commenced = {{start date and age|1987|02|17}}
| headquarters = [[Naha]], [[Okinawa Prefecture]], [[Japan]]
| key_people = Susumu Namihira ([[President (corporate title)|President]] & [[Chief executive officer|CEO]])<ref>{{cite web |url=https://rac-okinawa.com/profile/|title=RAC Company Profile|access-date=18 June 2024}}</ref>
| hubs = [[Naha Airport]]
| frequent_flyer = 
| lounge = 
| alliance = 
| fleet_size = 5
| destinations = 9
| website = {{URL|www.rac-okinawa.com}}
}}

'''Ryukyu Air Commuter''' <!--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.-->('''RAC''') is a Japanese [[regional airline]] headquartered in [[Naha, Okinawa|Naha]], [[Okinawa Prefecture]], [[Japan]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=会社概要 {{!}} 琉球エアーコミューター |url=https://rac-okinawa.com/profile/ |access-date=2024-06-18 |website=rac-okinawa.com}}</ref> It operates domestic passenger services from the island of [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]] to other islands of [[Okinawa Prefecture]] and the [[Amami Islands]], [[Kagoshima Prefecture]]. It is owned by [[Japan Transocean Air]] (74.5%), [[Okinawa Prefecture]] (6.3%), [[Minamidaitō, Okinawa|Minamidaitō]] (4,8%) [[Kumejima, Okinawa|Kumejima]] (4,3%) [[Kitadaitō, Okinawa|Kitadaitō]] (4,0%) and other shareholders (6,1%).<ref name=":1" />

==History==
[[File:RAC Bombardier DHC8-100(JA8972) (4235899933).jpg|thumb|A RAC [[de Havilland Canada Dash 8|Bombardier Dash 8 100]] in the old livery, landing at [[Naha Airport]], [[Okinawa Prefecture]], [[Japan]]. (2009)]]
[[File:RAC Bombardier DHC8-Q300(JA8936) (4244003305).jpg|thumb|right|A RAC Bombardier Dash 8 Q300 landing at Naha Airport, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. (2009)]]
Ryuku Air Commuter was established on December 24, 1985, with help from joint investments from the local government and local businesses. The following year they received the air transport license and the airline started operating flights between [[Naha]] and [[Kerama Islands|Kerama]] on the 17th of February 1987. This route was operated with a [[Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander|Britten-Norman BN-2B Islander]] seating up to nine people.<ref name=":2" /> The next route introduced by the airline was  from [[Naha]] to [[Aguni, Okinawa|Aguni]] and commenced on December 20, 1989.  

On November 16, 1992, Ryuku Air Commuter took over two [[De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter]] aircraft from [[Japan Transocean Air]] (then known as ‘Southwest Air Lines’), with a capacity of 19 seats this aircraft type had a significantly higher capacity than the BN-2B.<ref name=":0" /> With the introduction of these new aircraft, the airline was able to increase its operations and also operate out of other airports than just Naha. With this growth in the operations the airline started to grow into a commuter airline with wide network of the islands within the prefecture, with the main hub being from the island of [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]] ([[Naha Airport]]).

As a replacement for the DHC-6 Twin Otter the [[De Havilland Canada Dash 8|DeHavilland Bombardier Dash 8 100 (DHC-8-100)]] was introduced in 1997, allowing for even greater capacity by seating up to 39 seats.<ref name=":0" /> With this larger aircraft the airline started two new routes that same year from Naha to [[Yoronjima|Yoron]] and [[Kumejima Airport|Kumejima]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=RACの歴史 {{!}} 琉球エアーコミューター |url=https://rac-okinawa.com/history/ |access-date=2024-06-18 |website=rac-okinawa.com}}</ref>

In the following years the airline would see an expansion of their network throughout the [[Okinawa Prefecture]] and expanding their fleet with more modern variants of the DHC-8 aircraft. In 2015, the airline signed a firm purchase agreement for five [[Bombardier Dash 8|Bombardier Dash 8-Q400]] passenger/cargo [[combi aircraft]], following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in 2014. It became the launch customer for this new variant aircraft upon delivery in 2016.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Q400 Combi Variant Launched|journal=Airliner World|date=November 2015|page=19}}</ref> The final [[De Havilland Canada Dash 8|Bombardier Dash 8-Q300]] flight was on 31 January 2018.

==Destinations==
Scheduled destinations (as of November 2019):<ref>"[https://rac-okinawa.com/flight/ Route Network]," ''Ryukyu Air Commuter''</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em auto; text-align:center"
|-
! City
! IATA
! ICAO
! Airport
! Notes
! Refs
|-
|[[Amami, Kagoshima|Amami]]||align=center|ASJ||align=center|RJKA||[[Amami Airport]]||{{Terminated}}|| align="center" |<ref name=":2" />
|-
|[[Hateruma]]||align=center|HTR||align=center|RORH||[[Hateruma Airport]]||{{Terminated}}||align=center|
|-
|[[Ishigaki, Okinawa|Ishigaki]]||align=center|ISG||align=center|ROIG||[[New Ishigaki Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Kitadaitō, Okinawa|Kitadaitō]]||align=center|KTD||align=center|RORK||[[Kitadaito Airport|Kitadaitō Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Kumejima, Okinawa|Kumejima]]||align=center|UEO||align=center|ROKJ||[[Kumejima Airport]]||||align=center|
|-
|[[Minami-Daito]]||align=center|MMD||align=center|ROMD||[[Minami-Daito Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Miyakojima, Okinawa|Miyakojima]]||align=center|MMY||align=center|ROMY||[[Miyako Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Naha]]||align=center|OKA||align=center|ROAH||[[Naha Airport]]||{{Airline hub}}||align=center|
|-
|[[Tarama, Okinawa|Tarama]]||align=center|TRA||align=center|RORT||[[Tarama Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Yonaguni, Okinawa|Yonaguni]]||align=center|OGN||align=center|ROYN||[[Yonaguni Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Yoron, Kagoshima|Yoron]]||align=center|RNJ||align=center|RORY||[[Yoron Airport]]||align=center| ||align=center|
|-
|[[Zamami, Okinawa|Zamami]]||align=center|KJP||align=center|ROKR||[[Kerama Airport]]||{{Terminated}}||align=center|<ref>"[http://www.jal.co.jp/en/dom/airport/japan/kjp/kjp_00.html Kerama Airport Guide]{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}," ''[[Japan Airlines]]''</ref>
|-
|}

==Fleet==
===Current fleet===
[[File:Ryukyu Air Commuter at Amami Airport.jpg|thumb|RAC [[Bombardier Dash 8|Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 Combi]]]]
{{As of|2024|06}}, Ryukyu Air Commuter operates the following aircraft:<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2024-06-12 |title=Ryukyu Air Commuter Fleet Details and History |url=https://www.planespotters.net/airline/Ryukyu-Air-Commuter |access-date=2024-06-18 |website=Planespotters.net |language=en}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em auto; text-align:center"
|+ '''Ryukyu Air Commuter Fleet''' 
|-
! Aircraft
! In Fleet
! Orders
! Passengers <br> <small>(Economy)</small>
|- align="center"
|[[De Havilland Dash 8 Q400|De Havilland Dash 8 Q400 Combi]]
| align="center" | 5
| align="center" | —
| align="center" | 50 + Cargo
|-
! Total
! 5
! —
!
|}

===Former fleet===
Ryukyu Air Commuter has previously operated the following aircraft:<ref name=":0" />
* [[Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander]]
* [[De Havilland Canada Dash 8-100]]
* [[De Havilland Dash 8-300]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category-inline|Ryukyu Air Commuter}}
*[https://rac-okinawa.com/ RAC official web site (Japanese)]

{{Portalbar|Japan|Companies|Aviation}}
{{JAL Group}}
{{Airlines of Japan}}

[[Category:Regional airlines of Japan]]
[[Category:Japan Airlines]]
[[Category:Airlines established in 1985]]
[[Category:Companies based in Okinawa Prefecture]]
[[Category:Japanese companies established in 1985]]