According to data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on June 15, Jeju Airlines carried 1,107,549 passengers in May, marking a 7.6% increase from 1,029,004 passengers during the same period last year.
Domestic flights saw a slight increase from 415,966 to 424,036 passengers, a rise of 1.9%, while international flights surged from 613,038 to 683,513 passengers, an increase of 11.5%.
Notably, Jeju Airlines has surpassed 1 million passengers for five consecutive months, following figures of 1,176,532 in January, 1,067,659 in February, 1,067,167 in March, and 1,127,370 in April, making it the only South Korean low-cost carrier to achieve this milestone.
From January to May, the total number of passengers reached 5,546,277, a 19.8% increase compared to 4,631,482 during the same period last year.
The airline's load factor also exceeded the industry average, with an overall load factor of 88.2% in May, 2.4 percentage points higher than the average of 85.8% among nine South Korean low-cost carriers.
By route, the domestic load factor was 90.5%, while international flights had a load factor of 86.8%. Jeju Airlines accounted for 23.3% of all low-cost carrier passengers in May.
The company attributed the increase in demand to rising fuel prices, leading travelers to seek affordable short-distance destinations such as Jeju Island, Tokyo, Taipei, and Weihai, China.
In response to the growing demand for short-distance travel, Jeju Airlines has adjusted its operations. Since March 29, it has increased the frequency of flights on the Gimpo-Jeju route to four round trips daily, and starting May 12, it began trial operations on the Incheon-Jeju route with two flights per week.
The airline also plans to continue expanding its routes, including the Incheon-Tokyo (Narita), Fukuoka, and Busan-Osaka routes, with additional flights scheduled through July and August. The Incheon-Tokyo (Narita) route will increase from 35 flights per week in July to 45 in August, while the Incheon-Fukuoka route will grow from 28 to 30 flights per week, and the Busan-Osaka route will rise from 14 to 17 flights per week.
A Jeju Airlines representative stated, "By efficiently operating routes based on customer demand and expanding our stable supply, we have maintained over 1 million monthly passengers for five consecutive months. We will continue to analyze travel patterns closely to provide a more convenient and affordable travel experience."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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