Fly Gangwon, among the newest to join South Korea’s budget carriers, has run its new international route to Taiwan with more than half of the seats vacant in the first month of service, raising concerns about Aero-K and Air Premia preparing service launch this year.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Tuesday, Fly Gangwon’s average seat occupancy rate on the route between Yangyang, Korea and Taipei, Taiwan reached a mere 44 percent from Dec. 26 to Jan. 20, much lower compared to other LCCs with routes to the Southeast Asian country.

Each route has a different departure city in Korea, but Jin Air showed a quite different situation with a 92 percent occupancy rate, followed by Jeju Air with 86 percent, Air Busan with 84 percent, T’way Air with 81 percent, and Eastar Jet with 71 percent.

Flights to Taiwan from Muan, Korea operated by Jeju Air recorded an average occupancy rate of 89 percent, trailed by those from Cheongju by Jeju Air and Eastar Jet with 86 percent and 62 percent, respectively.

The domestic route showed no difference, with the average rate of 62 percent on Nov. 22-Jan. 20 on its only route between Yangyang and Jeju Island.

The low rate is largely due to the short period of time it spent for promotion and marketing, the company said. The government granted the route operation license to Fly Gangwon just two days before the launch, and the carrier could not do anything for promotion until then under the local aviation law.

“It is generally difficult for a new route to take off smoothly early in service. The occupancy rate will go up two to three months later,” said a Fly Gangwon official.

Experts however raise doubts about whether other newcomers could go on their maiden flight well as planned amid the bearish market mood. Aero-K is scheduled to start servicing its first flight in March, and Air Premia is planning to file for the air operator certificate early next month.

By Song Gwang-sup, Choi Keun-do and Lee Ha-yeon

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]