Air Premia, Inc. (Korean: 에어프레미아㈜;RR: eeo peuremiajusik hoesa) is a South Koreanairline based inSeoul. It describes itself as a "hybrid airline", providing a higher level of service thanlow-cost airlines while having lower operating costs than larger, full-service airlines. The airline was founded in 2017 by the former president ofJeju Air, Kim Jong-chul.[2]
Air Premia was established on July 27, 2017, by the ex-president ofJeju Air, Kim Jong-chul.[2] In April 2019, the airline intended to launch in 2020 and lease threeBoeing 787-9s fromAir Lease Corporation (ALC),[3] but later announced that it had agreed to purchase five.[4] The airline was initially expected to launch with regional routes within Asia, but later intended to operate long-haul routes to Europe and the United States.[5]
In April 2021, Air Premia received its firstBoeing 787-9, with plans to operate 10 aircraft by the end of 2024.[6][7] On August 11, 2021, the airline celebrated its inauguration of flights with a domestic service between Seoul and Jeju.[8] Domestic services ended on October 30, 2021, as the airline prepared to transition to exclusively operating international routes.[9] These consisted of a mix of scheduled, chartered, passenger, and dedicated cargo services to destinations in Asia, Europe, and North America.
Air Premia's initial fleet was planned to consist of three Boeing 787-9s, but this was later increased to five.[3][4] In early 2024, Air Premia planned to increase its fleet with an additional four 787-9s to be leased fromKorean Air starting later in 2024, as part of addressing competition concerns with Korean Air'sproposed merger withAsiana Airlines.[38]
Air Premia operates two cabins and classes of service on its aircraft, consisting of apremium economy cabin (branded asPremia 42) consisting of 56 seats in a 2–3–2 layout, and aneconomy class cabin (branded asEconomy 35) consisting of seats in a 3–3–3 layout, with the numbers in the branding reflecting their respectiveseat pitch in inches.[39] In contrast tolow-cost carriers, Air Premia includes various services complimentary rather than imposing additional fees for them, such as baggage allowances, in-flight catering, andin-flight entertainment. However, the airline still provides somebuy on board services, such as forduty-free sales andWi-Fi access.
^Jang, Yong-seok (March 24, 2023)."에어프레미아, 팬데믹 이후 최초 5월 노르웨이 직항로 취항" [Air Premia, launches direct route to Norway in May for the first time since pandemic].Global Economic (in Korean).
