In the first quarter of this year, low-cost carriers (LCCs) such as Jeju Air and T'way Air showed remarkable performance in international passenger traffic. Jeju Air closely followed Asiana Airlines, while T'way Air rapidly increased its passenger numbers, approaching pre-COVID-19 levels.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's aviation information system Air Portal on the 11th, a total of 9,713,000 passengers boarded international flights operated by domestic airlines (Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Jeju Air, Jin Air, T'way Air, Air Busan, Air Seoul) in the first quarter of this year. This is 64.49% of the same period in 2019.
By airline, Korean Air ranked first with 2,731,000 passengers. Following were Asiana Airlines with 1,735,000 passengers in second place, and Jeju Air with 1,670,000 passengers in third. Jin Air (1,245,000), T'way Air (1,240,000), Air Busan (761,000), and Air Seoul (331,000) followed.
The rankings are the same as in 2019, just before COVID-19. However, the growth of Jeju Air and T'way Air stands out in passenger numbers. Jeju Air even surpassed Asiana Airlines. From January to February, international passengers using Jeju Air totaled 1,107,000, exceeding Asiana Airlines' 1,103,000. It is rare for an LCC to surpass a full-service carrier (FSC) in international passenger numbers, as LCCs specialize in short- and medium-haul routes, making it difficult to compete with FSCs that focus on medium- and long-haul routes.
Jeju Air's progress is thanks to routes to Japan and Southeast Asia, with Japan having a significant impact. Jeju Air began recruiting passengers early in the recovery of Japan routes last year. As a result, Jeju Air transported 601,127 passengers on Japan routes last year, ranking first among domestic airlines. Asiana Airlines was second with 440,953 passengers, and Korean Air was third with 428,367.
Asiana Airlines was able to maintain its position through increased flights in March. Last month, it significantly increased flights on Japan routes including Haneda, Narita, Osaka, and Okinawa. It also expanded flights on Southeast Asia, Europe, and China routes.
T'way Air is considered the fastest airline to recover passenger numbers compared to pre-COVID-19 levels. In the first quarter of 2019, T'way Air had 1,325,000 international passengers, with only an 85,000 difference from this year's first quarter. The gap with Jin Air, which ranked fourth this quarter, was just 5,000 passengers.
T'way Air introduced three Airbus A330-300 aircraft last year. These aircraft were deployed on long-haul routes including Southeast Asia and Australia. While other airlines returned aircraft last year, T'way Air increased its fleet, which is considered a major factor in its passenger growth.
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