Jeju Air Surpasses 50 Million Domestic Passengers... First Among LCCs

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Jeju Air announced that as of the 3rd, its cumulative domestic passengers have surpassed 50 million. It has been 15 years and 7 months since its inaugural flight on June 5, 2006.

Jeju Air is the third among Korean carriers to exceed 50 million cumulative domestic passengers, following Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, and the first among domestic low-cost carriers (LCCs).

Jeju Air reached 1 million domestic passengers just 1 year and 5 months after its first flight in June 2006. Then, in January 2013, 6 years and 2 months later, it surpassed 10 million domestic passengers, followed by 20 million in November 2015 (2 years and 10 months later), 30 million in January 2018, and 40 million in January 2020, shortening the intervals between each 10 million milestone.

Among the 50 million passengers, 47.35 million (94.7%) traveled on Jeju-origin routes such as Gimpo~Jeju, Busan~Jeju, Cheongju~Jeju, and Daegu~Jeju. Approximately 2.65 million passengers (5.3%) flew on inland routes like Gimpo~Busan and Gimpo~Yeosu.

The domestic market share also increased significantly. It was around 1.5% in its first year of operation in 2006 but rose steadily to 10.9% in 2011. Notably, in 2020, Jeju Air recorded a 17.2% market share, marking the first time since its launch that it had the highest number of domestic passengers among Korean carriers. Last year, it maintained the top spot for domestic passenger numbers for the second consecutive year with a 19.5% market share.

On this day, Jeju Air celebrated its 50 millionth passenger on flight 7C136 from Jeju to Gimpo by giving all passengers a 50,000 KRW discount coupon for Business Light on the Gimpo~Jeju route, and held a congratulatory event presenting the 50 millionth passenger with a ‘Domestic Business Light Gift Ticket’ in front of the Jeju Air domestic ticketing counter at Gimpo Airport.

Additionally, from 10 a.m. on this day until 5 p.m. on the 9th, Jeju Air is offering discounted tickets. Based on one-way total fares including fuel surcharges and airport facility charges for travel between March 1 and October 29, domestic flights start at 20,500 KRW, and international flights start at 216,000 KRW for special sale prices.