Jin Air to launch Flights to Thailand and China in October

Jin Air, the premium short-haul carrier established in 2008 by Korean Air, will start its inaugural international flights in October this year. Jin Air’s first international routes will be to cities in China and Thailand. The actual cities the airline will fly to has not yet been confirmed and an announcement is expected later this year.

Prior to its international debut, Jin Air will expand its fleet as its network increases from this month. Jin Air will operate a total of five Boeing 737-800 aircraft by purchasing one in April and another later this year.

On April 3, Jin Air will start a new domestic route, operating eight flights per day between Busan and Jeju. Adding this new service to the current 24 flights per day on the Seoul (Gimpo)-Jeju route, the airline will reach a total of 32 flights per day.

To mark its launch of international service, Jin Air will boost its revenue target substantially, setting this year as a starting point. The carrier is targeting 90 billion won (US$65 million) in sales revenue this year, a dramatic increase from last year’s 10 billion won. By 2010, three years since its establishment, Jin Air aims to fly high as Asia’s leading premium short-haul carrier by reaching operating profit with 160 billion won in sales.

Improving passenger load factor is another goal. Jin Air aims at 70% load factor, 20% up from last year’s 50%. In order to achieve this goal, Jin Air is introducing various discount programs such as providing up to 20% discount to all employees and their families at selected domestic and international corporations, and up to 10%discount for more than three family members making reservations together.

Jin Air successfully completed its airline safety audit (IOSA), which was conducted by an IATA accredited Audit Organization (AO). Jin Air started flight operations in July 2008, and took only eight months to obtain the IOSA Registration Certificate.

“Prior to international service inauguration, we have confirmed our global standards of safety by achieving IOSA Registration Certificate, a globally acknowledged airline safety audit program,” said Jae Kun Kim, CEO of Jin Air. “We believe that Jin Air will become a leading global premium short-haul carrier, exhibiting world-standard safety and convenience at a reasonable price for the traveling public. We will make steady efforts to meet customers’ needs by cultivating more short and medium-haul routes in the future.”

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