Eastar Jet, 100 Days of Gimpo-Jeju Flights... "96% Load Factor"

Eastar Jet, which resumed operations after three years, announced on the 5th that it marked 100 days of operation on the 3rd.

Eastar Jet completely suspended operations on March 24, 2020, due to financial difficulties caused by COVID-19. It resumed commercial flights after three years, starting with flight ZE205 departing from Gimpo Airport to Jeju Airport on March 26.

Since resuming operations, Eastar Jet has operated a single route between Gimpo and Jeju for the past 100 days. Using three 189-seat 737-800 aircraft, it operated a total of 2,362 flights. This accounted for about 10-12% of the total supply on the Gimpo-Jeju route during that period.

From the early stages of resuming flights, Eastar Jet has continuously assigned safety managers to oversee crew briefings and strengthen pre-flight safety inspections. It also ran aggressive promotions, such as one-way fares as low as 9,900 KRW. Over the 100 days since resuming operations, a total of 446,418 seats were supplied, and 426,605 passengers used the service, achieving an average load factor of 95.6%, indicating smooth progress.

On July 1, Eastar Jet introduced its fourth aircraft (HL8541) into service. This is the first additional aircraft introduced beyond the three aircraft held during the rehabilitation period. The daily seat supply on the Gimpo-Jeju route was expanded to 5,670 seats. The fourth aircraft is a next-generation 737-8 model, known for its high fuel efficiency, which helps reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions, making it a highly efficient and eco-friendly aircraft.

Eastar Jet has confirmed the entry dates for its fifth and sixth aircraft and is preparing to operate the Cheongju-Jeju route starting August 1 and its first international route, Gimpo-Songshan, starting September 2. The schedules for these routes have been finalized, and special fare promotions are being conducted through the company’s website.

Along with fleet introduction and route expansion, recruitment and reemployment procedures are underway in preparation for business expansion. Following a public recruitment for general staff in the first half of the year after resuming operations in March, the company is currently accepting applications for the second half public recruitment until the 9th of this month. Additionally, according to the plan to introduce new aircraft within the year, essential crew members are being reemployed sequentially through reemployment procedures.

An Eastar Jet official stated, “Based on over 10 years of experience in fleet and route operations, the normalization process, including fleet introduction and route expansion, is progressing smoothly,” adding, “We will make even greater efforts to become an airline that contributes to customer convenience through the introduction of the 10th aircraft and expansion of international routes within the year.”