Occupancy rate of S.Korean LCCs for int’l flights hits 87%

Routes to Japan and Southeast Asia see full recovery, with plans to expand flights to Greater China

Occupancy rate of S.Korean LCCs for int’l flights hits 87%
Mi-Sun Kang 1
2023-07-20 16:33:47 misunny@hankyung.com
Airlines

The average occupancy rate (AOR) on international flights of South Korea’s low-cost carriers (LCCs) has exceeded 80%, fully recovering to its pre-COVID-19 level. 

Driving this trend is surging demand for LCC flights to and from Japan and Southeast Asia, and such carriers also seek to raise their global market share by resuming service to China.

Airportal, the flight data portal of South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, on Wednesday said the AOR of international flights on domestic LCCs in the first half of the year was 87.1%, up from 83.5% in the same period of 2019. The airline industry considers 80% the break-even point.

Air Busan, which has had its Busan-Bangkok and Incheon-Bangkok routes for a year since the government declared “coexistence with the coronavirus,” saw both flights recording an AOR of 84%.

Having sufficiently raised their AORs for Southeast Asia and Japan routes, the LCCs are implementing a strategy of boosting service to China under a flexible operating policy amid rapidly fluctuating market conditions and demand.

The country’s No. 1 LCC Jeju Air will resume Jeju Island-Macao service from Tuesday,  Incheon-Hong Kong from Aug. 1 and Jeju Island-Beijing from Aug. 2. T’way Air will restart its Cheongju-Yanji, China, route on Friday, and Air Busan its Busan-Macao flight on Tuesday. 

Air Seoul, which mainly operates Japanese routes, will also recommence service to Hong Kong around October.

“Following their expansion of Japan and Southeast Asia routes, LCCs entering the second half of the year have started launching new flights or resuming suspended ones to Greater China in a bid to expand their share of the market for short- to mid-distance international routes,” an airline industry source said.

Greater China refers to Mandarin-speaking countries in East Asia like mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, where the majority are culturally and ethnically Han Chinese.

Write to Mi-Sun Kang at misunny@hankyung.com
 
#Korea #LCC #average occupancy rate #international flights #routes #Japan #Southeast Asia #Greater China

Jeju Air becomes 1st S.Korean LCC to surpass 100 mn passenger mark

Jeju Air becomes 1st S.Korean LCC to surpass 100 mn passenger mark

South Korea's low-cost carrier (LCC) Jeju Air Co. on Sunday said its cumulative number of passengers exceeded 100 million 17 years after the company's launch in June 2006 in a first for a domestic LCC.The passenger milestone broke down to 59.7 million domestic passengers or 59.7%, and 40.3 mil

LCC Air Premia to be jointly managed by two PE firms

LCC Air Premia to be jointly managed by two PE firms

Air Premia was established in 2017 Air Premia Inc., a South Korean low-cost carrier, will be jointly managed by two Seoul-based private equity firms – JC Partners and AP Holdings, according to people with knowledge of the matter on Monday.On June 30, its largest shareholder JC Partners wi

Air Busan targets record profit with more int’l flights

Air Busan targets record profit with more int’l flights

Air Busan aircraft at Gimhae International Airport, South Korea (Courtesy of Yonhap) Air Busan Co., a South Korean low-cost carrier, targets record earnings with more international flights, especially to neighboring China and Japan, by taking advantage of growing demand for those lucrative rout

Jin Air seeks to spread wings to Indonesia, Singapore

Jin Air seeks to spread wings to Indonesia, Singapore

Jin Air Chief Executive Park ByungRyool Jin Air Co., a low-cost carrier (LCC) under Korean Air Co., is seeking to expand its air routes to Indonesia and Singapore this year with the addition of two Boeing 737 MAX passenger planes, its chief executive said on Wednesday.Both routes have not been

Jeju Air CEO sees Korea-Indonesia routes as blue ocean

Jeju Air CEO sees Korea-Indonesia routes as blue ocean

Jeju Air Chief Executive Kim E-bae South Korea’s largest low-cost carrier (LCC) Jeju Air Co. will make the most of the post-pandemic recovery in travel demand by exploring Southeast Asian markets, primarily Indonesia, where it plans to open its first routes, its chief executive said on Tu

S.Korea's Air Premia, T'way compete for golden routes to Europe

S.Korea's Air Premia, T'way compete for golden routes to Europe

South Korea's low-cost carriers (LCC) Air Premia and T'way Air Co. are competing to secure "golden routes" to Europe that Korean Air must give up to acquire Asiana. This LCC contest is apparently turning into a battle over pride as the growth potential of both carriers could differ depend

Number of travelers on S.Korea's LCCs jumped 104-fold in Q1

Number of travelers on S.Korea's LCCs jumped 104-fold in Q1

Demand for overseas flights in South Korea has exploded since the resumption of air travel operations amid the substantial easing of COVID-19 restrictions. Domestic low-cost carriers (LCCs) are raising the number of chartered international flights and conducting aggressive marketing by using n
(* comment hide *}