Jeju Air Celebrates 14th Anniversary of International Flights... "Leading in Passenger Transport to Japan and Vietnam"

Jeju Air announced on the 20th that it began operating the Incheon~Osaka route seven times a week on March 20, 2009, marking the beginning of its full-scale international flight operations and celebrating the 14th anniversary of its international service this year.

Starting with transporting 150,000 passengers in its first year of international service in 2009, Jeju Air surpassed 1.19 million passengers in 2012. With Jeju Air's reasonable fares and differentiated services, it has led the popularization of air travel.

Jeju Air responded strategically even during the COVID-19 crisis. In the fourth quarter of last year, it achieved the highest number of passengers by proactively increasing flights on Japan routes, recording an operating profit of 18.7 billion KRW and successfully returning to profitability. Throughout 2022, it transported 6.07 million passengers, narrowing the gap with the record high of approximately 8.36 million passengers in 2019 to about 77% of that level.

This year, Jeju Air recorded an average load factor of 93% on its key Southeast Asian routes to Vietnam and the Philippines. From January to February, on the Vietnam routes in operation, it transported about 98,200 passengers out of 635,000 passengers carried by Korean carriers, achieving a 27% market share among low-cost carriers (LCCs) and ranking first among domestic LCCs. During the same period, on the Philippines routes, it transported about 100,000 passengers out of 462,000 passengers carried by Korean carriers, securing approximately 21% market share and ranking second among domestic carriers.

Meanwhile, amid the rapid rebound in international demand, Jeju Air is accelerating the resumption and expansion of routes. Starting March 26, it will resume flights on the Incheon~Matsuyama (five times a week) and Incheon~Shizuoka (three times a week) routes to small cities in Japan, and expand the Incheon~Yantai route from six to sixteen flights per week. Additionally, from April 20, it will resume the Incheon~Ho Chi Minh (seven times a week) and Incheon~Hanoi (seven times a week) routes, solidifying its position as the strongest operator on short- to medium-haul routes.

A Jeju Air official said, “Starting with the Incheon~Osaka route in 2009, we currently operate 37 international routes, the most among domestic LCCs,” and added, “We will continuously discover new destinations and strive for the sustainable popularization of air travel.”