South Korea’s Jeju Air, Air Busan offer ultra-cheap fares to revive demand amid safety fears

South Korea’s Jeju Air and Air Busan have rolled out significant discounts on plane tickets to stimulate demand, which has recently been declining following their involvement in major aircraft accidents, according to data and industry officials. The corporate image of Jeju Air was severely tarnished in the aftermath of the tragic plane crash in December last year, which claimed 179 lives. This led to an immediate decline in earnings for the low-cost carrier (LCC), as customers cancelled tickets amid growing safety concerns.<br/>According to data from the ministry of land, infrastructure and transport, the number of passengers flying with Jeju Air dropped by 29.3% over 26 days following the crash on December 29, compared to the previous month. Responding to the freeze in demand, Jeju Air adopted an ultracheap sales strategy by drastically cutting ticket prices. The airline is selling tickets between Seoul and Jeju for less than 20,000 won (US$13.85), more than twice as cheap compared to its usual pricing. This is also the case for Air Busan, which is under scrutiny by relevant authorities after one of its passenger jets caught fire before its flight last month. The fact that both accidents occurred relatively close to each other in time has also had a negative effect on other LCCs amid ongoing passenger safety fears. According to the land ministry’s data, the number of passengers for Jin Air and T’way Air also fell by 10.4% and 5.6%, respectively, during the same period, as customers’ fears of LCCs reached their peak. In contrast, the number of passengers for South Korea’s two full-service carriers, Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, declined by only around 2% each.<br/>