Jeju Air eyes growth after strong rebound from pandemic

South Korean low-cost carrier Jeju Air has successfully bounced back from the coronavirus pandemic, as it prepares to induct the Boeing 737 Max 8. During the first half of 2023, the Seoul Gimpo-based carrier flew 2.5m passengers on domestic and 3.3m passengers on international routes, surpassing the number flown in the first six months of 2018, according to CE E-Bae Kim. He adds that the carrier’s domestic network has fully rebounded compared with 2019, but that international traffic is just 75-80% of pre-pandemic levels. “With the exception of the South Korea-China route, which experienced a delayed recovery due to the Covid-19 pandemic, most of our major routes from 2018-2019, which were profitable, have largely regained their pre-pandemic performance,” says Kim. “We continuously adapt our route portfolio with a focus on both profitability and growth.” Domestically, Jeju Air is focused on retaining its strong market share on the key Seoul-Jeju route, while on the international front it recently resumed services to Hong Kong, as well as leisure destinations such as Boracay in the Philippines and Phu Quoc in Vietnam. Kim says these routes are adding additional revenue and operating profit. Kim believes that if current trends hold, the carrier is on track to achieve recover revenues and operating profits. In the first half of 2023, revenue more than tripled to W792b ($585m), as the carrier swung to an operating profit of W93.9b. The carrier operates about 40 737-800s as well as a pair of 737-800BCF freighters. Next month will see it introduce its first two 737 Max 8s from its orderbook of 40 examples. The updated 737 variant will allow Jeju Air to contemplate longer range routes, specifically Indonesia and Central Asia.<br/>