Jeju Air Sees Spring Surge in Active Senior Travelers, With Demand Peaking in Q2

Yeongseong Scenic Area in Weihai. [Jeju Air]

Jeju Air said Tuesday that demand among its travelers in their 60s and 70s — so-called “active seniors” — is concentrated in the second quarter.

Based on an analysis of the past three years of data (2023-2025), the airline said the average number of passengers in their 60s and 70s in the second quarter was about 420,000, 21.3% higher than the third-quarter average of about 346,000.

In March, when temperatures begin to rise, the average monthly passenger count was about 155,000, showing that travel demand picks up from early spring.

The airline expects that spring travel demand among active seniors will remain steady this year. As of Tuesday, Jeju Air’s bookings for April and May stood at about 164,000 and 145,000, respectively, exceeding the past three-year monthly average for the second quarter.

For overseas travel in the second quarter this year, the most popular route among active seniors was Incheon-Weihai, with about 24,000 passengers. It was followed by Busan-Taipei/Kaohsiung and Incheon-Qingdao, each with about 14,000 passengers, indicating strong demand for travel to Greater China.

A Jeju Air official said demand appears to be driven by relatively reasonable second-quarter airfares and the ability to travel on a more relaxed schedule because crowds are typically lighter.

* This article has been translated by AI.

Oh Jooseok