Jeju Air expanding routes

Jeju Air is increasing its reach to diverse destinations. / Courtesy of Jeju Air

By Yoon Ja-young

Jeju Air is expanding its routes, seeking growth by increasing income sources through more diversified flight destinations.

The low-cost carrier (LCC), owned by retail conglomerate Aekyung Group, started flights from Incheon to Sapporo, Kota Kinabalu and Phuket, July 20, to increase market share during the peak summer vacation season.

Now, Jeju Air operates on nine routes between Korea and Japan, flying to Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Okinawa and Sapporo from Incheon, Gimpo and Busan. That is the most among LCCs servicing the two countries.

The route to Kota Kinabalu is Jeju Air’s first flight service to Malaysia. Along with the Incheon-Phuket route, it is expected to enhance Jeju Air’s competitive edge by providing more diverse options for increasing numbers of travelers flying to Southeast Asia.

Jeju Air also started irregular flight services connecting Busan with Saipan and Hanoi, and between various other cities in Korea and China. There will be two flights a week on the Busan-Saipan route from July 26 to Aug. 23, and between two and four flights a week for the Busan-Hanoi route from July 23 to Aug. 27. Flights are scheduled for 16 cities in China between July and October.

The LCC will also expand its flights between Incheon and Tokyo’s Narita Airport from three times a day to four, starting Sept. 7. Jeju Air has already increased its flights between Incheon and China’s Weihai this month from once to twice daily. It is increasing flights between Seoul and Jeju by around 300 during the peak summer season to serve an increasing number of tourists to the country’s popular island destination.

In line with the expansion of flight services, Jeju Air is scheduled to buy or lease two more aircraft by the end of this year for a total of 24 planes.

“We will speed up expansion of flights to secure sustainable growth,” a Jeju Air spokesman said.