The budget arm of All Nippon Airways (ANA) is being rebranded as Vanilla Air, with its president saying that vanilla is "loved by everyone in the world".
"We chose vanilla as our brand name because it is popular and loved by everyone in the world," the airline's president Tomonori Ishii told reporters in Tokyo. "I think it is a very cute name."
Mr Ishii was apparently unaware of the bland and plain associations with the word "vanilla" in the West.
The airline, initially a joint venture between ANA and the Malaysia-based AirAsia, was previously called AirAsia Japan. A name change was needed as ANA now wholly owns the carrier. ...
Vanilla Air will begin flights in late December with a fleet of two aircraft, to be leased from ANA, and will target travellers heading for holiday resort destinations in Asia.