Air Korea to start operations with Flights between Seoul and Jeju

Air Korea, a new short-haul carrier subsidiary of Korean Air, is gearing up for inauguration this coming July. Looking to create a new splash in the Korean aviation industry, the airline is acquiring the necessary licenses, systems, aircraft and facilities, as well as human resources needs.

Mr. Jae Kun Kim, CEO of Air Korea, said, “Air Korea is not the average low-cost carrier. It is a carrier focused on short-haul routes with simple but sophisticated services at affordable prices while maintaining essential operating procedures at premium levels. For example, our safety-related work is outsourced to Korean Air, which has 40 years of experience from its own global operation.”

Air Korea was established in January this year. After obtaining the Scheduled Air Transportation Business license from the Korean government in April, the airline is currently acquiring its Air Operator Certificate (AOC).

Air Korea’s inaugural flight will be from Seoul to Jeju, using a Boeing 737-800 aircraft with 189 seats. The airline will acquire two more Boeing 737-800 aircraft this year and two Airbus A300-600 aircraft with 292 seats next year. Air Korea has already secured an office and operational space in Gimpo (GMP), Jeju (CJU) and Busan (PUS) airports.

In April this year, Air Korea started recruiting 20 employees, for which more than 3,000 applicants submitted their resumes, showing a competition rate of over 150 to 1. Air Korea plans to complete the employment of nearly 70 staff members by early June to get ready for its inaugural flight, and increase the number to 120 by the end of the year.

Air Korea will use state-of-the-art Boeing 737-800 aircraft for its inaugural flight in July. The airline is also establishing a 100% Internet-based reservation system, which will open in mid-June. Eliminating the need for a call-center, this is expected to lower operational costs considerably.

To reduce the time at airport check-in counters, Air Korea will not assign seat numbers for each individual passenger. Instead, it will divide the Boeing 737-800 cabin into three zones, and simply designate which zone passengers should be seated according to their time of arrival at the airport.

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