"My Pet Also Flies!" Air Busan Transports 10,000 Pets for 3 Consecutive Years

Last Year, 10,283 Pets Transported

Pets Recognized as Valuable Customers by Air Busan

Air Busan (CEO An Byung-seok) has solidified its image as a pet-friendly airline by transporting over 10,000 pets for three consecutive years until last year.

Pets wearing Air Busan pet uniforms.

Last year, Air Busan transported a total of 10,283 pets, with 9,078 accompanying passengers in the cabin and 1,205 as checked baggage. By route, flights departing from and arriving at Jeju accounted for about 80% of the total, with 8,178 pets transported. Even on international routes, where traveling with pets is less common, 164 pets were transported, marking an increase of more than 200% compared to 54 pets in 2022.

Since 2021, Air Busan has expanded the number of pets allowed to accompany passengers in the cabin from the previous limit of 3 per flight to up to 10. This increase in allowance led to a significant rise in pet transportation numbers, which had been around 6,000 to 8,000 until 2020, reaching ▲11,000 in 2021 ▲11,747 in 2022, and maintaining over 10,000 for three consecutive years through last year. This reflects a growing trend of recognizing pets as family members and travel companions, resulting in a steady increase in passengers traveling with pets.

Air Busan is also enhancing satisfaction among passengers traveling with pets through various pet-friendly marketing initiatives. At ‘Shop Air Busan,’ the airline’s official logo shop, self-produced pet-related goods are sold, with the ‘Pet Uniform’?modeled after the cabin crew uniform?drawing significant attention from pet families, according to an Air Busan representative.

Additionally, the airline has held distinctive events such as seasonal promotions offering ‘Travel Kits’ composed of pet-exclusive snacks and supplies, as well as providing special boarding passes printed with pets’ names.

An Air Busan representative stated, “Recognizing pets as valuable customers of Air Busan, we will continue to provide various services to ensure that passengers and their pets have comfortable and memorable journeys.”

Air Busan also strives to accommodate general passengers who may not prefer pets by implementing a system where seats occupied by passengers traveling with pets are distinctly identified during self check-in via airport kiosks, helping nearby passengers be aware and allowing better seat selection options.