Jin Air announced on January 19 that it recorded an operating loss of 16.3 billion won last year. This marks a sharp decline in profits compared to the previous year, when the company posted an operating profit of 163.1 billion won, resulting in a shift to the red.
This is the first annual deficit for Jin Air in three years, since 2022, when the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was still ongoing. Jin Air had posted profits for ten consecutive quarters from the fourth quarter of 2022 to the first quarter of last year, but recorded an operating loss in the second quarter of last year due to factors such as increased exchange rate volatility.
On a standalone basis, last year's revenue was 1.3811 trillion won, down 5.5% from the previous year's record high.
Jin Air explained that, although the number of passengers last year reached an all-time high of approximately 11.24 million (according to Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport aviation statistics), up 2% from the previous year's 11.03 million, the company was affected by intensified supply competition in an unstable economic environment characterized by high exchange rates and inflation, which led to a decline in ticket prices.
Looking ahead to this year, Jin Air expects the unfavorable domestic and international business environment to persist amid continued high exchange rates. The company stated that it will focus on strengthening competitiveness to accelerate profitability improvement. In particular, Jin Air plans to respond appropriately to robustly increasing passenger demand, especially on short- and medium-haul international routes.
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