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Airlines face tougher challenge from budget carriers
By Kim Rahn
Jin Air, a low-cost carrier (LCC) affiliated with Korean Air, will operate flights between Incheon and Honolulu, Hawaii, beginning in December, becoming the first Korean budget airline to open a long-haul international route.
The decision is expected to fuel competition between budget carriers and full-service airlines over the longer, lucrative routes.
While Jin Air now operates 16 international flights and two domestic, it plans to add eight international flights departing Busan and two international flights departing Incheon, the carrier said Wednesday.
"We have studied the market to decide our first long-range destination," a Jin Air official said. "And we picked Hawaii. Although other full-service carriers now operate between Korea and Hawaii, we think Jin Air's operation will increase the total demand."
How many operations per week and the time schedules have not been decided, he said.
The long-haul operation is possible because Jin Air is the only local LCC that has a mid-sized, long-range airplane ― the B777-200ER. The carrier will put two more of the aircraft into operation this year.
The eight flights departing Busan will fly to cities that include Fukuoka, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Manila. Jin Air aims to have Busan as its second base following Seoul.
Besides the two B777-200ERs, the airline plans to add four B737-800s, a small-sized, short-haul airplane. "Adopting six planes a year is the largest increase among budget carriers here," the official said.
After the expansion, Jin Air will have 19 aircraft with a total of 4,100 seats ― 16 B737-800s, which each have between 180-189 seats, and three B777-200ERs, which have 355-393 seats.
With such a grand expansion, the carrier aims to do 501 billion won in sales and realize 23 billion won in operating profit this year, and thus record a surplus for the sixth consecutive year. The goals for the sales and the operating profits are up 43 percent and 36 percent from last year's, respectively.
"This year we'll expand both in quantity and quality. It will be an important year for not only Jin Air but also the LCC industry in Korea," the official said.
