[THE INVESTOR] Jeju Air, Korea’s largest low-cost carrier, will launch new routes and expand the number of airplanes in the third quarter to meet demand in the busiest time of the year.

The air carrier on July 20 will launch three new routes leaving from Incheon International Airport. They are to Sapporo in Japan, Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia, and Phuket in Thailand, the company said on July 4. 



With the new addition, Jeju Air will serve six Japanese cities, including Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Okinawa and Sapporo. When including flights leaving from Gimpo Airport and Gimhae Airport, Jeju Air has nine routes, serving the most number of cities between Korea and Japan among the budget airlines here.

Kota Kinabalu is the first Malaysian route for Jeju Air.

The air carrier will first operate non-scheduled flights to Phuket and then later decide if it will change to a regular flight.

Jeju Air will also operate charter flights from Busan to different countries, including Saipan, Vietnam and China.

Starting on Sept. 7, the Incheon to Tokyo route will be increased from three to four flights a day. The airline has already added one more flight from Incheon to Weihai, China, beginning July 1.

Also from July 9 to Sept. 19, 300 additional flights will be added from Gimpo International Airport to Jejudo Island.

On the back of increasing travelers, the company is also considering to purchase three additional aircrafts, to take the total number to 26 by end of this year.

“We are planning to buy more airplanes, launch new routes and increase the number of flights on the existing routes to establish the basis for a sustainable growth,” an official of Jeju Air said.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)