The Nation's First Domestically Produced Aviation Pallet, First Delivered to Airlines

Signed Business Agreement with Air Premia, Expecting Positive Impact on Overseas Market Expansion

Sub, an aerospace parts SME that succeeded in domestic production of air cargo pallets previously reliant entirely on imports, announced on the 10th that it has recently signed a contract with domestic LCC (Low-Cost Carrier) Air Premia and will begin its first delivery. Photo by Sub

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Sub, a small and medium-sized aviation parts company that succeeded in domestic production of aircraft cargo pallets previously fully dependent on imports, announced on the 11th that it has recently signed a contract with the domestic LCC (Low-Cost Carrier) Air Premia and will begin its first delivery.

Sub is a small and medium-sized aviation parts company that, last year, became the first in Korea to domestically produce aircraft cargo pallets and received certification from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, followed by obtaining the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification, the first in the domestic industry.

Although the number of registered aircraft in Korea is increasing every year, the purchase and repair of aviation parts mostly rely entirely on imports. Unit Load Devices (ULD), including cargo pallets, are used in about 900,000 units worldwide by airlines.

The domestic demand in the Korean aviation industry is about 20,000 units, with annual replacement and repair costs each amounting to approximately 3 billion KRW. Since these were fully dependent on imports, this amount has directly led to foreign currency outflow.

Kim Jin-seop, CEO of Serve, who succeeded in the domestic localization of cargo pallets for aircraft for the first time in Korea, is posing in front of the pallet. Photo by Kim Hee-yoon

Sub, which signed a business agreement with Air Premia, will deliver aircraft cargo pallets to a Korean-registered aircraft for the first time. Earlier, Air Premia announced on the 9th that it plans to lease one aircraft (B787-9) from Boeing in the U.S. in February and commence operations by the 5th of the following month.

Air Premia, planning to introduce seven aircraft by next year, received its license on the condition of operating nine medium- to long-haul routes centered on Incheon Airport, including the U.S., Canada, and Vietnam.

Sub, which has devoted seven years to developing aircraft cargo pallets, explained that after receiving FAA certification and preparing to start full-scale business, it was unable to conduct proper sales activities due to the impact of COVID-19.

Kim Jinseop, CEO of Sub, said, “Korean Air, which we considered a major domestic client, had already signed an option contract in 2019 to outsource pallet and container transportation work to a foreign company for five years. Also, Asiana Airlines was in a situation where even business proposals were difficult due to acquisition issues, so this first contract with a domestic LCC is very meaningful for a company like ours focused on domestic aviation technology localization.”

He added, “Since we have a price competitiveness advantage over foreign companies, we will take the lead in creating new jobs through overseas market expansion and securing original technology based on contracts with domestic airlines.”