Air Seoul takes off smoothly

Air Seoul, a budget airline operated by Korea’s second-largest carrier Asiana Airlines, is off to a good start, filling on average 97 percent of seats on its flights, officials said Tuesday.

Its route from Gimpo to Jeju saw an average of 96 percent filled seats and its Jeju-Gimpo route saw 98 percent of seats filled between July 11 and 17.

It currently operates four flights daily between Gimpo International Airport in Seoul and Jeju Airport.

The airline also said that 95 percent of tickets for the rest of July have already been booked.

The Gimpo-Jeju route currently codeshares with Asiana Airlines and is operated using Asiana Airlines’ planes, meaning that there is essentially no difference for flyers between the two airlines.

Reservations for Air Seoul are currently handled through Asiana Airlines’ website, and flyers check in through Asiana counters. Air Seoul’s own website is slated to open on August 8.

Ticket prices for the two airlines are also similar, leading to complaints that Air Seoul is not truly a low-cost carrier.

“Our ticket prices fluctuate constantly according to the amount of tickets that are booked,” an Air Seoul spokesperson told The Korea Herald, adding that its tickets were not set intentionally at prices similar to Asiana.

The spokesperson also said that the difference in ticket prices between Asiana Airlines and Air Seoul will be more noticeable once Air Seoul begins operating its international flights in October. The airline is currently in the process of obtaining its international air operator certificate.

“Like other low-cost carriers, Air Seoul’s international flights will be cutting costs by charging for extra amenities, meaning that consumers will see lower prices,” she said.

Air Seoul will operate its Gimpo-Jeju route on codeshare with Asiana until Sept. 30 before launching international flights to Japan, Cambodia, Malaysia and Macau through Incheon International Airport.

The international flights will not codeshare and will operate completely independently of Asiana, the spokesperson said. By that time, Air Seoul’s aircrafts will have been renovated into the mono-class structure typical of low-cost carriers.

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)