Jejuair surpassed 100,000 international transit passengers in just seven months this year, the airline announced Tuesday.
The low-cost carrier said its international transit passenger count reached approximately 106,600 from January through July, an 18.4 percent increase from roughly 90,000 over the same period last year.
By nationality, Chinese transit passengers posted the sharpest growth, rising 74.3 percent to about 27,200 from roughly 15,600 last year. Japanese transit passengers rose 41.9 percent to approximately 17,600, up from about 12,400 a year earlier.
Chinese travelers accounted for the largest share of Jejuair's international transit passengers this year at 25.5 percent, followed by Japanese (16.5 percent), Mongolian (11.9 percent), Filipino (8.2 percent) and American (7.2 percent).
Chinese transit passengers primarily used South Korea as a stopover en route to Japan — Osaka, Tokyo Narita and Fukuoka — and Saipan. Japanese travelers transited through Korea to Southeast Asian destinations including Cebu in the Philippines, Hanoi in Vietnam and Bangkok in Thailand, as well as to China. Mongolian passengers connected through Korea to Japan (Tokyo Narita and Osaka) and Vietnam (Nha Trang and Phu Quoc).
Jejuair attributed the growth in transit traffic to an expanded international route network from both Incheon and regional airports, along with improvements to transit convenience.
On China routes, the airline operates not only flights from Incheon but also regional services including Busan to Shanghai (Pudong), Shijiazhuang and Zhangjiajie, and Jeju to Beijing (Capital and Daxing). Japan routes extend beyond Tokyo (Narita), Osaka and Fukuoka to smaller cities such as Hiroshima, Matsuyama and Kobe, while Mongolia routes run simultaneously from both Incheon and Busan to Ulaanbaatar.
In addition, Jejuair has signed interline agreements with 21 airlines — the most among domestic low-cost carriers — allowing passengers to book itineraries through to Europe and the Americas in a single reservation.
"We are strengthening transit convenience through a solid route network and interline partnerships with global carriers," a Jejuair official said. "We will further enhance our international competitiveness through flexible operations tailored to diverse routes and market demand."
Jejuair currently operates 60 routes in total — seven domestic and 53 international, covering Japan, Greater China, Mongolia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.
terry@heraldcorp.com
