Jeju Air Expands China Routes Including Resumption of Jeju-Xi'an Flights

Jeju-Xi'an to Operate Twice Weekly Starting May 20
Incheon-Weihai to Increase to 10 Flights per Week in July
"Expanding Regional China Routes in Response to Growing Demand"

Jeju Air announced on the 16th that it will increase its flights to China, including the Jeju-Xi'an route.

Jeju Air B737-8 aircraft. Provided by Jeju Air

Starting from May 20, Jeju Air will resume operations on the Jeju-Xi'an route with two flights per week (Tuesdays and Saturdays). On this route, flights will depart from Jeju International Airport at 10:00 PM (local time) and arrive at Xi'an International Airport at 1:00 AM the following day. The return flight will depart from Xi'an at 2:00 AM and arrive at Jeju Airport at 6:25 AM.

Previously, Jeju Air increased the frequency of its Incheon-Weihai route from seven to nine flights per week as of April 27. The airline plans to further increase this to ten flights per week starting July 1. In addition, it is considering operating a Busan-Shanghai route.

Jeju Air currently operates ten routes to China, the highest number among domestic low-cost carriers (LCCs). These include Incheon-Qingdao, Incheon-Harbin, Incheon-Weihai, Incheon-Yanji, Incheon-Shijiazhuang, Incheon-Jiamusi, Busan-Zhangjiajie, Busan-Shijiazhuang, Jeju-Beijing Capital, and Jeju-Beijing Daxing.

Passenger load factors on China routes have been recovering this year. In January, the load factor was in the low 70% range, rising to the mid-70% range in February and March, and reaching the mid-80% range in April. For Jeju Air, the number of passengers on China routes last month was approximately 46,000, an increase of about 10,000 from the previous month. This represents a 15% increase compared to the same period last year.

A Jeju Air representative stated, "We expect demand for flights between the two countries to increase due to Korea's visa waiver measures and China's push for visa-free group tours," adding, "To respond to growing demand for China routes and to enhance travel convenience, we will work to expand China-bound routes departing not only from Incheon but also from regional airports such as Jeju and Busan."