By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff reporter
Despite a dismal performance last year as a result of the worldwide economic downturn, local budget airline carriers have been flying high this year on a growing number of air travelers in line with improving economic conditions and the strengthening of the Korean won.
Jeju Air, which marked the fourth year in operation on June 5, stands out among the pack as the nation’s oldest budget air carrier has emerged as the biggest beneficiary of the renewed travel boom.
Despite a temporary setback in 2009 as a result of the economic slump and the spread of the H1N1 influenza, the budget carrier, headed by CEO Kim Jong-chul, has seen its annual revenue and the number of passengers expand by an average of 96 percent and 81 percent, respectively, since its operation in June 2006.
“Due to unfavorable business conditions, we earned 87.8 billion won ($85 million) in sales in 2009 but posted a 27.3 billion won operation loss. But we have attracted a total of 892,000 passengers from January through May, more than half of last year’s total. Our revenue is expected to reach 150 billion won this year and post an operating profit, with more Koreans traveling both domestically and internationally for the remaining of the year,” a Jeju Air spokesman said.
He said a strong won against the dollar and the quick economic rebound this year have encouraged more local travelers to head to not only Jeju Island, but also a wide array of foreign destinations, pushing up the number of its air travelers.
Promoting low ticket prices and simplified onboard services, budget air carriers have taken passengers away from the nation’s two flagship carriers, Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, who mostly fly from one domestic city to another. But there have always been safety concerns for airplanes operated by low-cost carriers.
“But we have proven that we are as safe as the two large carriers as more travelers choose to fly with us year after year. We expect a growing number of Koreans to head overseas through our international flight services,” the spokesman said.
The low-cost airline currently operates three domestic routes; Gimpo-Jeju, Busan-Jeju and Cheongju-Jeju. It also offers five international routes for those going to four Japanese cities, including Osaka, and Bangkok from either Gimpo or Incheon.
Jeju Air plans to expand the number of international routes, improve its operation safety and boost customer satisfaction in order to emerge as Korea’s most trusted low-cost provider of reliable air travel service.