Budget airlines surpass flag carriers in passenger volume for first time

A Jeju Air passenger jet / Courtesy of Jeju Air

Korea’s low-cost carriers (LCC) surpassed the nation's two full-service carriers (FSC) for the first time ever in terms of the combined number of international passengers in 2023, according to data, Thursday.

Data from an air portal system gathered by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport showed the number of international flight passengers who used the nation’s nine LCCs – including Jeju Air, Jin Air and T’way Air – reached 24.19 million last year, beating Korean Air and Asiana Airlines combined by more than 1 million during the same period.

This marked the first time since 2003 that LCCs carried more passengers on international flights than the two FSCs. The nation’s first LCC began operations that year.

This was driven by passengers’ growing demand for short- and mid-haul flights to Japan and Southeast Asian nations, such as Vietnam and Thailand. The trend is evident after air travel was resumed following the years-long COVID-19-triggered shutdowns. The post-pandemic interest rate hikes and high inflationary pressure also raised demand for cheaper overseas travel to nearby regions.

Japan topped the list in terms of the number of passengers from LCCs last year. More than 19.38 million travelers visited the country via flights from LCCs, and Vietnam followed the list with 8.74 million during the same period. More than four million passengers here also took a flight to Thailand last year alone.

Officials from LCCs said they will continue the momentum throughout this year by widening routes to mid- to short-distance regions.

“Even if competition is widely expected to toughen for the routes among existing LCCs, the pace of passenger growth will remain solid in the foreseeable future,” an official from a local LCC said.

Leading LCCs are also moving to introduce more aircraft to meet the growing passenger demand.

Jeju Air, the nation’s largest LCC by sales, plans to introduce five more aircraft this year, in a bid to extend its winning earnings streak. Jin Air is also scheduled to bring in four more aircraft for a similar reason.