Aekyung Group is Jeju Air's largest shareholder, and Jeju Air is the largest shareholder in AK Holdings, the holding company of Aekyung Group.[4] In 2024, it was reported that AK Holdings has injected over 600 billion won to Jeju Air in the previous four years.[4] Jeju Air is the most profitable among AK Group's five subsidiaries.[5]
Jeju Air is the first Korean LCC to be publicly listed on theKorea Exchange.[5]
The airline was established as a joint venture byAekyung Group and the government ofJeju Province on 25 January 2005. It was established under a different Korean name (제주에어; a transliteration of "Jeju Air"). It received a business license on 25 August 2005, which made it the third major airline in the country afterKorean Air andAsiana Airlines. On 20 September 2005, it changed its Korean name to its current form. It acquired its first aircraft on 2 May 2006, and had its first commercial flight, on the Jeju-Gimpo route, on 5 June 2006. By the end of 2006, it had five aircraft.[3] In addition to air service, the group is also the owner of aHoliday Inn Express in Seoul.[6]
In 2016, it helped foundValue Alliance, the world's first pan-regional low-cost carrier (LCC) alliance, comprising eight Asia Pacific LCCs.[7] In 2017, Jeju Air carried over 6 million passengers, with revenue reported of $890mm US operating profits over $80mm US. In 2018, Jeju Air carried 7.3 million international passengers along with 4.7 million domestic passengers. Its domestic traffic has been relatively flat since 2016 as it has focused almost entirely on international expansion.[8]
After an initial public offering in 2015, Jeju Air finances were stable until thecoronavirus outbreak in early 2020.[9] In November 2020, there were approximately 3,100 employees at the airline.[10] In August 2021, Jeju Air sold stock, raising $180 million for financing operations;[11] this was one of three occasions between 2020 and 2024 where it raised capital; the total was almost $500 million.[9]
In 2024, in the National Customer Satisfaction Index (NCSI) organized by the Korea Productivity Headquarters, Jeju Air was ranked No. 1 in the LCC category for the third consecutive year.[12]
On 12 August 2007, Jeju Air Flight 502, aDe Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 (registered as HL5256), performed a runway overshoot atGimhae International Airport. All 74 passengers and five crew members survived, but four passengers were injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged and written off.[26][27]
The Boeing 737-800 crashed as Flight 2216 seen four days before the accident
On 29 December 2024,Jeju Air Flight 2216, aBoeing 737-8AS (registered as HL8088) returning fromSuvarnabhumi Airport inBangkok,Thailand, experienced arunway excursion at 9:07AM KST (UTC +9) and crashed into an airport perimeter fence atMuan International Airport inMuan County, South Korea.[30] The aircraft skidded down the runway on its belly before striking a reinforced concrete wall and exploding. Four crew members and all 175 passengers were killed, while 2 crew members survived and were taken to the hospital inSeoul.[31] It has been assumed that the accident was due to abird strike that caused a failure in the deployment of thelanding gear, but the exact cause is still under investigation.[32] This was the deadliest accident on South Korean soil and the deadliest involving a Korean-registered aircraft since1997. Jeju Air's CEO pledged to repair trust and strengthen safety measures in a press conference following the incident.[33]
^"Contact Us." Jeju Air. Retrieved on March 5, 2010. "제주특별자치도 제주시 연동 301–7"
^"Jeju Head OfficeArchived 2011-08-30 at theWayback Machine." Jeju Air. Retrieved on December 27, 2011. "#301-7, Yeon-dong, Jeju City, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province"
^"[단독]제주항공, 화물 전용기 2호기 도입… 물류 사업 힘준다" [[Exclusive] Jeju Air Introduces Cargo Unit 2... I'm giving you strength in the logistics business] (in Korean). Donga News. 11 May 2023.
^"연도별 도입 현황" [Introduction status by year].atis.koca.go.kr (in Korean). Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
^"연도별 말소 현황" [Status of cancellation by year].atis.koca.go.kr (in Korean). Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
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