1 in 5 Koreans flying to LA now chooses Air Premia, 4 years after launch

Air Premia has surpassed a 20 percent passenger share among Korean carriers on the Incheon–Los Angeles route, four years after launching the service. The airline has carried about 760,000 passengers over that period, and foreign nationals now account for nearly half of all travelers on the route.

Air Premia said Monday it had transported a cumulative 759,277 passengers on the Incheon–LA route from its inaugural flight on Oct. 29, 2022, through September this year.

Its average passenger share among Korean carriers since launch stands at 15.8 percent, with the figure rising consistently each year. Starting at 12.9 percent in its first year of operation, the share climbed to 14.0 percent in the second year and 15.3 percent in the third, before reaching 20.8 percent in the fourth — crossing the 20 percent threshold for the first time. The share is measured against other Korean carriers operating the Incheon–LA route, not the route's total passenger pool across all airlines.

The LA route is one of the most prominent long-haul transpacific services in the domestic aviation market. Air Premia has expanded its share by deploying Boeing 787-9 aircraft on a route previously dominated by full-service carriers, offering two cabin classes — economy and wide premium.

The passenger mix has also shifted. Over the four years since launch, foreign nationals have averaged 44.8 percent of total passengers. That share was 40.2 percent in the first year, rose to 41.1 percent in the second and 47.2 percent in the third, and reached 49.6 percent in the fourth — meaning roughly one in two passengers on the route over the past year has been a foreign national.

Air Premia has steadily expanded its US long-haul network since launching the LA service and now flies to five American cities: Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Washington D.C. and Honolulu.

To mark the fourth anniversary of its LA launch, the airline is running a promotional fare sale on its US routes. Round-trip fares from Incheon on the LA route start at 1,763,200 won ($1,320) for wide premium class and 983,200 won for economy.

The sale runs from 10 a.m. Monday through Oct. 19. Tickets purchased during the promotion are valid for travel from Monday through Aug. 31 next year, with the Honolulu route eligible through Feb. 28 next year.

However, fuel costs remain a variable for long-haul travelers. Air Premia's international fuel surcharges for October rose roughly 10 percent from the previous month, with the one-way surcharge set at 290,000 won for the LA and San Francisco routes and 363,950 won for New York and Washington D.C.

"We prepared this promotion to express our gratitude to customers who have flown with us on the LA route over the past four years," an Air Premia official said. "We hope it eases some of the financial burden from the recent fuel surcharge increases and allows more customers to enjoy travel to the Americas at a reasonable fare."