Recently, low-fare airlines, such as Flybe in England or JAL in Japan attract attention from customers. Those airline companies provide cheaper fare than other airlines.  In Jeju, the low-fare airline, Jeju Air, which is Korea's third commercial airline company, was also founded in June. There is actually another low-fare airline called Hanseong Air. However this airline has  only one route from Jeju to Cheong Ju, so just a few people can use it. On the other hand, Jeju Air, founded by Ae-Kyung Group, has branches in Jeju, Seoul, Busan, and Yang-yang. People who want to take the Jeju-Seoul or Seoul-Jeju route, which is the longest route in Korea, might have a big burden from the expensive airfare, but now they can  travel around thanks to the low fares from Jeju Air.
How can Jeju Air have such low fares? Jeju Air purchases fuel at low costs and reduces the weight of the aircraft, which raises fuel efficiency. Moreover, the flight attendants wear simple casuals, unlike the formal suits of other airlines. Three months have gone by since Jeju Air routes were opened, so we asked jeju Air some questions about them.

Jeju Air

Q1. The Islander : We heard the planes of Jeju Air are ones that have propellers unlike the passenger planes of other airlines, so we think there might be  some questions from customers about the safety of the planes. Could you explain more about the planes?

Jeju Air : Our aircraft are model Q400 turbo propeller jet planes; Flybe and JAL use this model too. The Q400 operates the propellers and jet together, which is safer than the Boeing air planes. The propellers are located on the wings, so passengers can enjoy the great scenery out the windows. Besides, the distance of takeoff and landing is so short, that Q400 use small or emergency airfields.  However, Q400 might provide less comfort than other planes and make noise and heavy turbulence because the distance is  short  and the inside of the plane is narrow .

Q2. The Islander : Hanseong Air had a hard time for operating at a loss last year.  Jeju Air might worry about the same thing. Do you have any counter measures?

Jeju Air: Every airline would worry about this problem. Asiana Airlines has made its profit just for the past three years. The boarding rate on Jeju Air flighs, especially the Jeju-Gimpo line, is already over 90 percent. Most airline companies look at long-term earnings, so net-profit will rise soon as we introduce airplanes.

  
Q3. The Islander: Jeju province and Ae-Kyung Group collaborated on the foundation of Jeju Air, and Jeju invested 25 percent of the investment. Is there any direct or indirect benefit to Jeju or Jeju people who want to work at Jeju Air?

Jeju Air : As you know, Korean Air raises its fares every year, but this year it has not raised the fares because of the opening of Jeju Air. In addition, Asiana has discounted the fare at fifty percent and controlled the fare for the Jeju line. Thus, we think Jeju Air has contributed to bringing about a positive effect for customers to use airplanes at more economic costs. Since Jeju province takes 25 percent of the profit, there are no special allowances made for Jeju citizens when we are hiring.

Q4. The Islander :  When customers contact the call service center or the homepage of Jeju Air to make reservations, the system has not worked well. How has Jeju Air solved this problem?

Jeju Air : Currently, we have received more than 15 thousand calls per day. There are too many calls to be serviced by our employees. We actually did not expect this situation, and to solve the problem, we need more staff than we currently hare. The online reservation service has had some technical problems; but we are trying hard to solve this problems soon.


   Jeju Air has a plan to be placed on almost all of the domestic routes including Gwang Ju and Yeo Su lines by this year. However an international line is not in the works yet, except for Japan and China lines, which are the nearest to Jeju. Jeju Air made its first flight with great interest from the public, but now it has taken criticism from the public for having some defects. There are different opinions about Jeju Air among customers. Some customers say that since Jeju Air just opened, we should keep watch over it. Others criticize Jeju Air, saying that its service is so terrible because the call service is unprepared and the noise of the airplanes is too excessive. Passengers may feel strange as they board the light aircrafts at first. And calling for flight information is usually more common than using Internet sites of the airlines in Korea, where people are not used to using low-fare airlines. However, making reservations online is more normal than calling for most low-fare airlines, such as Southwest and Easyjet. Of course, Jeju Air must solve their problems immediately, but we also should remember that Jeju Airline opened just three months ago, and we should watch with warm encouragement and interest, not just with a harsh reproach. Anyhow, whether Jeju Air will be a success or not, is up to us.



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