Seoul Gimpo International Airport

Korea’s Jeju Air signals it must change from hybrid to pure LCC model as it seeks partnerships

Change may finally be coming to South Korea’s low-cost carrier scene. Once the home of innovation and the only notable examples of LCCs in North Asia, the numerous LCCs stagnated under a “Korea-style” LCC model that reduced some costs, making them lower-cost than the full-service legacy incumbents, but far from being internationally competitive. There were bouts of unprofitability and plenty of unexploited opportunities for expansion.

Independent Jeju Air, Korea’s third-oldest carrier (now eight years old) and first LCC, is more acutely aware than its mainline subsidiary LCCs of the changing dynamics in North Asia and is looking to respond.

Japanese low-cost carriers as well as those from Southeast Asia have a growing presence in Korea, and the Korean market is increasingly warming to them. With a new CEO, Jeju Air is looking to move away from its hybrid model to further reduce costs, and is also open to partnerships and alliances. If Jeju is able to achieve these goals, Korea’s other LCCs will be pressed to respond – creating a very dynamic North Asia LCC scene.

In Korea’s independent LCC market, Jeju Air soars while Eastar Jet is still coming of age

The nearly 20 year duopoly on South Korean air services held by Asiana and Korean Air was broken in 2006 with the launch of Jeju Air. That gave Korea its first low-cost alternative, establishing the country as a vibrant ground for potential new carriers, but only two made it to market and amassed scale: Jeju Air and Eastar Jet. More recently, t'way – rebranded from Hansung Airlines – has launched, but with a rocky experience and uncertain future as the airline remains for sale.

The experience for Eastar Jet and Jeju has not been equal. Jeju Air had to forge a path as a new carrier, and so encountered typical resistances, but has been rewarded with the status as Korea’s third largest carrier, larger than the LCC spin-offs from Asiana and Korean Air. Eastar Jet, the last of the new carriers to launch, has found it difficult to secure a position. Jeju Air is closer to being a hybrid carrier and both must re-define themselves and their cost base as regional competition increases. No position is guaranteed or forced.

Korean LCCs Air Busan and Jin Air succeed in different niches but must adapt to greater competition

South Korea was once the heartland – and limit – of LCCs in North Asia, but with the LCC movement gaining pace the country now risks stagnation. That is represented in Air Busan and Jin Air, the respective LCC subsidiaries of full-service carriers Asiana and Korean Air.

Air Busan is the larger of the two and advantaged with a base in its namesake city, a second-tier one that like elsewhere in the region often gets overlooked for service. But inefficiencies have creeped in with an Airbus A321 and Boeing 737 fleet and domestic services competing with high speed rail. Its profits are lower than Jin Air, which has the much larger Seoul and Incheon areas to call home but whose network still plays second fiddle to Korean Air, which will see foreign LCCs further erode its network.

Jin Air, like Air Busan, must be allowed a larger role. Jin Air's advantages will be narrowed as other LCCs make Seoul their first point of call of Korea. Air Busan and Jin Air can maintain the status quo in the short-term, but soon need the shackles taken off.

Tiger Airways & business recovery propels Australia’s golden triangle up rankings of world’s busiest

Passenger numbers on the Melbourne-Sydney route (Australia’s busiest and now the world’s fourth busiest) surged 18.5% year-on-year in May-2010, reflecting a recovery in business travel and Tiger Airways’ expansion on the route since Jul-2009. The increase was well ahead of the 5.3% increase in Australian domestic airline passengers for the month and signals the revitalisation of the route after several years of stagnation under the former Qantas-Virgin Blue duopoly.

LCCs in Japan, Korea and China. Massive growth potential to be realised in the next decade

The second decade of the 21st century will see low cost airlines arrive on a massive scale in North Asia. The region has not seen significant low cost airline entry to date – one of the few parts of the world to have missed the phenomenon. It is a major anomaly in this respect, because the geography, economy and demography of the three neighbouring countries of Japan, South Korea and China offer near-ideal conditions for LCC growth.