Air Premia secures W125b investment from PEFs

Air Premia, a new budget air carrier applying for a business license here, said Thursday that it has received investment proposals worth 125 billion won ($111 million) from domestic private equity funds for its Series B financing. 

According to the company, private equity funds including IMM Investment, JKL Partners and Skylake Investment submitted plans to each invest 30 billion won in the company. Including other private equity funds such as Mirae Asset Venture Investment and Daishin Private Equity, the total amount of investment planned for Air Premia reaches 125 billion won. 

“Unlike other average low-cost carriers that compete for short-distance flight routes, Air Premia’s strategy in targeting medium- and long-distance routes stood out,” said Park Byung-gun, head of Daishin PE.

Incheon-based Air Premia is pinning hopes on winning a license with differentiated seat options. It recently scouted former Jeju Air CEO Kim Jong-chul to lead its business.

“We are going to be the first (Korean budget) air carrier to introduce premium economy seats. The global flight industry trend has been shifting toward offering PE seats for medium- and long-distance routes as customers seek an affordable but comfortable flight experience,” Air Premia said in a statement.

As of November, the company has secured 37 billion won of investments via anchor and Series A financing. It aims to obtain a total of up to 150 billion won of capital by securing Series B investments prior to its official launch. 

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)