Jeju Air's Cargo Transport Grows 10-Fold... Strengthening Route Expansion

147 Flights to Yantai, Ho Chi Minh, Bangkok, etc.
Considering Resuming Suspended Routes Based on Cargo Volume

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Jeju Air announced on the 27th that it transported 577 tons of cargo over the past month, marking the highest volume since starting its cargo transportation business in October last year.

The number of flights operated by cargo-dedicated passenger aircraft also increased significantly. While there was only one flight on the Incheon-Bangkok route in October last year, last month saw a total of 30 flights across two routes: Yantai, China, and Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.

From October last year to last month, cargo-dedicated passenger aircraft operated 147 flights to six cities?Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh, Taipei, Yanji, Yantai, and Haikou?transporting 1,159 tons of cargo. Including cargo carried on regular passenger flights during this period, the total cargo volume reached 2,076 tons.

Jeju Air's cargo revenue accounted for only 2.3% of its total revenue of 115.2 billion KRW in the first half of this year, amounting to approximately 2.7 billion KRW. However, it showed rapid growth by transporting 921 tons?about 94% of the 975 tons transported in the first half?during July and August alone.

The cargo business using cargo-dedicated passenger aircraft began as an alternative to overcome the crisis when international flights were virtually suspended due to COVID-19. Initially, only limited cargo volumes were transported by utilizing the remaining space in the cargo hold after loading passenger baggage. However, after receiving permission from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in October last year to transport cargo within passenger aircraft, Jeju Air started the cargo business using available passenger aircraft, leading to an increase in transportation volume.

Jeju Air stated, "We will continue cargo transportation on the currently operating routes to Yantai and Haikou in China, and are also considering expansion in line with cargo volume trends, including resuming the currently suspended Ho Chi Minh route in Vietnam due to the spread of COVID-19."