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Who's Who in Low Cost Aviation
| Carrier: | Jeju Air
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| Headquarters: | Korea
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| Founded: | 2006
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| Destinations: | 4
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| Bases: | Jeju
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| Owners: | Aekyung Group (75%), Jeju Province (25%)
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| Listed: | Yes
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| Online Booking: | Yes
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| Website: | http://www.jejuair.net
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| Fleet | Dash-8 Q400 5 + 3 on order
| Overview - Jeju Air
A second low cost turboprop operator for Korea Slightly later to the party, Jeju Air has a more certain route towards achieving mass in Korea's LCC sector than fellow turboprop-operating rival Hansung Airlines. The company, a joint venture between the Jeju Province and conglomerate Aekyung Group, has placed an order for five 74-seat Bombardier Dash-8 Q400 aircraft, with options for a further three.
Jeju Air, which conducted its first flight Jun-06, will principally connect its resort island hub with major metropolitan areas on the Korean mainland, offering fares priced 30% lower than the existing competition, Asiana and Korean Air. On the intra-mainland routes, it aims to price services below the countrys new high-speed rail network. The company is more conservative in its profit forecast timeframe than Hansung, predicting that net income will be achieved by 2009. It looks to 2010 for the launch international flights China and Southeast Asian destinations.
Outlook challenging for small LCC
Although it has a more conservative approach to breaking into the difficult Korean LCC sector than rival Hansung, the road ahead will be challenging for Jeju Air. Entrenched full-service carriers Korean and Asiana will be aggressive in keeping interlopers out of the domestic market, and will certainly bring their prices down to a similar level of the newcomer. An operator of 5-8 turboprops will find flying through their jet-wash a challenging proposition.
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