Korean Air, the Only National Airline Operating Private Jets
Signed MOU with YG in March... Samsung Also a Client
How much does it cost to rent the private jet that BLACKPINK uses?
Korean Air revealed photos of the interior of the private jet used by BLACKPINK members on its official Instagram on the 1st. In March, Korean Air signed a business agreement with BLACKPINK's agency YG Entertainment and became the official airline sponsor of BLACKPINK's world tour.
BLACKPINK member Jennie attracted attention in January, before signing with Korean Air, by riding a VistaJet private jet. BTS is also known to have used VistaJet private jets.
Korean Air operates a membership system costing around 700 million KRW annually. The available usage time is 30 hours, and upon joining the membership, the cost is 4.8 million KRW per hour, or 2.9 million KRW for domestic flights. Assuming the private jet is used for international flights, the total for 30 hours comes to 844 million KRW. The hourly cost is about 28.13 million KRW, and after using all 30 hours, one must pay 700 million KRW to renew the membership.
Companies or individuals either own private jets or sign contracts with private jet companies to rent them as needed. Currently, Korean Air is the only domestic airline operating a private jet business. Korean Air runs a private jet rental business with a total of four aircraft, including the Gulfstream G650ER, Boeing Business Jet, and Bombardier Global Express XRS.
BLACKPINK's Lisa (front left), Jennie (front right), and Ros? (back) posing in front of the private jet. [Photo by Online Community]
The main clients are YG Entertainment and Samsung. Samsung faced criticism for the excessively high maintenance costs of private jets and handed over three private jets and six private helicopters to Korean Air in 2015.
Among domestic conglomerates, SK Group, Hyundai Motor Group, and LG Group own private jets. SK Group owns three aircraft including the Gulfstream G650, Hyundai Motor Group has the Boeing 737-7GE (BBJ), which is the presidential aircraft for Korea and the United States, and LG Group is known to own a G650.
Private jet usage fees vary depending on the aircraft and destination. When an airline receives a private jet contract request, it calculates labor costs, handling fees, fuel, and local airport usage fees to propose a price. Private jet usage prices are confidential. VistaJet, the world's largest business private jet operator, is known to start at a minimum of $15,000 per hour (approximately 19.62 million KRW per person) and applies the same hourly rate pricing system to all routes.
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