Air Premia eyes 2020 start after securing funding

South Korean start-up hybrid carrier Air Premia plans to launch services in the first half of 2020 after securing a total of US$33m in capital ahead of starting its license application process. The carrier discloses that it secured $22m in Series A funding that closed Sept 7. In addition to $11m in seed funding, its capitalisation is now above Seoul’s planned minimum of $27m to license new carriers. Based on that it intends to submit its air carrier license application this month. CE and co-founder Jong Chul Kim says that strong investor interest demonstrates that it is the right time for a new medium- and long-haul hybrid carrier to enter the Korean market. Kim is a former CE of Jeju Air, and the airline says that it he is leading a group of flight operations, safety and maintenance executives. <br/>