BrandWikiReturn

Air Premia

Air Premia, Inc. is a South Korean airline based in Seoul. It describes itself as a "hybrid airline", providing a higher level of service than low-cost airlines while having lower operating costs than larger, full-service airlines. The airline was founded in 2017 by the former president of Jeju Air, Kim Jong-chul.[2]

History

Air Premia was established on July 27, 2017, by the ex-president of Jeju Air, Kim Jong-chul.[2] In April 2019, the airline intended to launch in 2020 and lease three Boeing 787-9s from Air 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 first Boeing 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. These consisted of a mix of scheduled, chartered, passenger, and dedicated cargo services to destinations in Asia, Europe, and North America.

Destinations

As of April 2025, Air Premia operates or has operated to the following destinations:

Interline agreements

Air Premia has interlining agreements with the following airlines:

Fleet

As of June 2025, Air Premia operates an all-Boeing 787-9 fleet composed of the following aircraft:[40]

Fleet development

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 from Korean Air starting later in 2024, as part of addressing competition concerns with Korean Air's proposed merger with Asiana Airlines.[43]

Near the end of 2025, the airline considered adding Airbus widebodies in response to delays in 787 deliveries, in addition to an evaluation of shifting toward narrowbodies to morph to a hub-and-spoke network model.[44]

Service concept

Air Premia operates two cabins and classes of service on its aircraft, consisting of a premium economy cabin (branded as Premia 42) consisting of 56 seats in a 2–3–2 layout, and an economy cabin (branded as Economy 35) consisting of seats in a 3–3–3 layout, with the numbers in the branding reflecting their respective seat pitch in inches.[45] In contrast to low-cost carriers, Air Premia includes various services complimentarily rather than imposing additional fees for them, such as baggage allowances, in-flight catering, and in-flight entertainment. However, the airline still provides some buy on board services, such as for duty-free sales and Wi-Fi access.

External links

References

  1. Air Premia receives IATA and ICAO codes Corporate Travel Community, 21 April 2020, retrieved July 16, 2022^
  2. Air Premia Airline Profile CAPA^
  3. Air Premia to Introduce Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner Air Premia, 1 February 2019^
  4. Keishi Nukina. Korean Start-Up Air Premia Announces Plans to Buy Five 787-9s KN Aviation, October 30, 2019, retrieved April 12, 2021^
  5. Lee Tae-hee. Air Premia to introduce Incheon-Los Angeles service Oct. 29 koreajoongangdaily.joins.com, JoongAng Daily Co., Ltd, 15 September 2022, retrieved 13 February 2025^
  6. Air Premia to receive three Boeing 787-9s in 2022 Corporate Travel Community, 11 February 2022, retrieved February 12, 2022^
  7. Air Premia leases two Boeing 787-9s from Aergo Capital CAPA, 5 August 2022^
  8. Air Premia to launch first domestic service in Aug-2021 CAPA, 2 August 2021^
  9. Jim Liu. Air Premia Adds Bangladesh Scheduled Charters From July 2023 AeroRoutes, 18 May 2023^
  10. Jim Liu. Air Premia Moves Dhaka Service Launch to Oct 2023 AeroRoutes, 8 September 2023^
  11. Jim Liu. Air Premia schedules Frankfurt June 2023 launch AeroRoutes, 23 March 2023^
  12. Seong-ho Lim. 에어프레미아, 인천∼프랑크푸르트 노선 12월 30일부터 비운항 Yonhap News Agency, 10 November 2023^
  13. Seong-ho Lim. 에어프레미아, 내년 1월 인천∼홍콩 신규 취항 Yonhap News Agency, 7 October 2024^
  14. Jim Liu. Air Premia Plans Tokyo late-Dec 2022 Launch AeroRoutes, 9 November 2022, retrieved 9 November 2022^
  15. Yong-seok Jang. 에어프레미아, 팬데믹 이후 최초 5월 노르웨이 직항로 취항 Global Economic, 24 March 2023^
  16. Won-ju Yi. Air Premia opens cargo flights to Singapore Yonhap News Agency, 24 December 2021^
  17. Incheon-Singapore route suspension notice Air Premia, 24 March 2023, retrieved April 4, 2024^
  18. Yong-kwon Kim. 에어프레미아 국내선 운항 종료...12월 싱가포르 취항 추진 Financial News, 28 October 2021^
  19. Pyeong-cheon Choi. 에어프레미아, 인천~방콕 노선 운항…국제선 3번째 취항 Yonhap News Agency, 11 March 2022^
  20. Jim Liu. Air Premia Schedules Seoul – Barcelona Charters From Sep 2023 AeroRoutes, 15 May 2023^
  21. Kyong-ae Choi. Air Premia opens cargo flights to Bangkok Yonhap News Agency, 11 March 2022^
  22. Jim Liu. Air Premia Adds Bangkok Service in April 2023 Aeroroutes, 24 February 2023^
  23. Jim Liu. Air Premia Expands Bangkok Flights from June 2023 AeroRoutes, 1 May 2023^
  24. Jim Liu. Air Premia Expands Ankara Charters to mid-Nov 2022 AeroRoutes, 2 September 2022^
  25. Jim Liu. Air Premia Files 1Q24 Honolulu Schedule AeroRoutes, retrieved 2023-08-23^
  26. Jim Liu. Air Premia schedules July 2025 Hawaii service resumption AeroRoutes, April 7, 2025, retrieved April 15, 2025^
  27. 에어프레미아, 인천∼하와이 호놀룰루 취항…주 4회 운항 Yonhap News Agency, 3 July 2025^
  28. Jim Liu. Air Premia Tentatively Moves Los Angeles Debut to mid-Oct 2022 AeroRoutes, 3 September 2022^
  29. Jim Liu. Air Premia Launches Seoul – Newark Service From May 2023 AeroRoutes, March 16, 2023^
  30. Jim Liu. Air Premia Schedules mid-May 2024 San Francisco Launch AeroRoutes, 19 January 2024, retrieved 19 January 2024^
  31. 에어프레미아, 내년 4월부터 美 워싱턴D.C. 노선 신규 취항 Choson News, 12 December 2025^
  32. Jim Liu. Air Premia schedules Seoul-Da Nang 1Q25 launch AeroRoutes, September 30, 2024^
  33. Kyong-ae Choi. Air Premia opens cargo flights to Vietnam Yonhap News Agency, 12 January 2022^
  34. Jim Liu. Air Premia Schedules Ho Chi Minh City Passenger Service in Oct 2022 AeroRoutes, 12 August 2022, retrieved 12 August 2022^
  35. Incheon – Ho Chi Minh route suspension notice Air Premia, 15 June 2023, retrieved April 5, 2024^
  36. 에어프레미아, 알래스카항공과 인터라인 협약…"미주·중남미 연결" Edaily, 4 July 2024^
  37. Seung-yeon Lee. 에어프레미아, 대한항공과 동북아·동남아 연계노선 티켓 판매 Yonhap News Agency, 27 May 2024^
  38. 에어프레미아, 타이항공과 노선 연계운항…미주∼동남아 환승↑ Yonhap News Agency, 26 March 2026^
  39. 티웨이항공·에어프레미아 국제선 연결…인터라인 협약 체결 Hankyung News, 5 September 2025^
  40. About aircraft Air Premia, 29 March 2026^
  41. Air Premia. Air Premia Adds Eighth Aircraft, Accelerating Global Route Expansion WIVB4.com, 26 June 2025, retrieved 5 August 2025^
  42. 에어프레미아, 좌석 18개 줄이고 이코노미 간격 31→33인치로 Yonhap News Agency, retrieved 16 March 2026^
  43. Korean Air to lease four B787-9s to Air Premia to resolve competition concerns in the US Aviator, January 24, 2024, retrieved April 27, 2024^
  44. Air Premia Weighs Airbus Widebodies, Ponders Change In Strategy aviationweek.com, 1 December 2025, retrieved 2 December 2025^
  45. Services by class Air Premia, retrieved April 27, 2024^