Air Seoul going into expansion mode

Air Seoul CEO Ryu Kwang-hee, fourth from left, poses with cabin crew during a media event at Incheon International Airport, Thursday. / Yonhap

By Lee Hyo-sik

Air Seoul will fly to major destinations in Japan and Southeast Asia, taking passengers from Jeju Air and four other local low-cost carriers (LCCs), the company chief said Thursday.

CEO Ryu Kwang-hee told reporters that the carrier, which began operations last October, will operate on international routes to Osaka and Guam, both popular destinations for Korean tourists, from Incheon International Airport starting Sept. 12.

Its planes will also start flying to Hong Kong and Narita International Airport near Tokyo on Oct. 31.

Currently, Air Seoul operates three A321-200 planes, leased from Asiana Airlines, on 11 international routes. The planes serve passengers heading to Takamatsu, Nagasaki and six other Japanese cities, as well as to Macau, Siem Reap in Cambodia and Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia.

“We are excited about serving leisure travelers heading to these four popular overseas destinations in the second half of this year,” Ryu said in the company’s first press conference at Incheon International Airport.

Air Seoul planes will fly to Osaka twice a day and to three other destinations once a day.

“I have no doubt Air Seoul will be able to effectively compete with other LCCs by offering safe and pleasant flight services for both Korean and non-Korean customers,” he said.

To service the four new routes, the carrier will add two new planes to its fleet, according to the CEO, who said the airline will continue to lease at least two new planes each year to cope with its expanding operations.

“Early next year, we plan to fly to destinations in the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan. We also would like to serve routes linking Incheon and other domestic airports with destinations in China,” Ryu said. “We will continue to serve people visiting small cities in Japan which could later become popular tourist sites.”

Air Seoul was initially set up in 2015 to take over Asiana’s unprofitable short-distance international routes when Korea’s second-largest flagship carrier was sandwiched by industry leader Korean Air and five local LCCs.

Asiana has had a hard time competing with LCCs in costs as it pays workers more and offers more services. In addition, Asiana has lagged behind Korean Air in attracting passengers on long-distance international routes.

After handing over its short-distance international routes to Air Seoul, the company plans to mobilize more resources to become a premium carrier capable of competing with Korean Air and other multinational carriers.