Air Premia


Air Premia, Inc. is a South Korean airline based in Seoul. It describes itself as a "hybrid airline", providing a higher level of service than low-cost airlines while having lower operating costs than larger, full-service airlines. The airline was founded in 2017 by the former president of Jeju Air, Kim Jong-chul.

History

Air Premia was established on July 27, 2017, by the ex-president of Jeju Air, Kim Jong-chul. In April 2019, the airline intended to launch in 2020 and lease three Boeing 787-9s from Air Lease Corporation, but later announced that it had agreed to purchase five. The airline was initially expected to launch with regional routes within Asia, but later intended to operate long-haul routes to Europe and the United States.
In April 2021, Air Premia received its first Boeing 787-9, with plans to operate 10 aircraft by the end of 2024. On August 11, 2021, the airline celebrated its inauguration of flights with a domestic service between Seoul and Jeju. Domestic services ended on October 30, 2021, as the airline prepared to transition to exclusively operating international routes. These consisted of a mix of scheduled, chartered, passenger, and dedicated cargo services to destinations in Asia, Europe, and North America.

Destinations

, Air Premia operates or has operated to the following destinations:
CountryCityAirportStart dateEnd dateNotesRefs
BangladeshDhakaHazrat Shahjalal International AirportPresent
GermanyFrankfurtFrankfurt Airport
Hong KongHong KongHong Kong International AirportPresent
JapanTokyoNarita International AirportPresent
NorwayOsloOslo Airport, GardermoenPresent
SingaporeSingaporeChangi Airport
South KoreaJejuJeju International Airport
South KoreaSeoulGimpo International Airport
South KoreaSeoulIncheon International AirportPresent
SpainBarcelonaJosep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat AirportPresent
ThailandBangkokSuvarnabhumi AirportPresent
TurkeyAnkaraAnkara Esenboğa Airport
United StatesHonoluluDaniel K. Inouye International Airport

Present
United StatesLos AngelesLos Angeles International AirportPresent
United StatesNewarkNewark Liberty International AirportPresent
United StatesSan FranciscoSan Francisco International AirportPresent
United StatesWashington, D.C.Dulles International AirportFuture
VietnamDa NangDa Nang International AirportPresent
VietnamHo Chi Minh CityTan Son Nhat International Airport

Interline agreements

Air Premia has interlining agreements with the following airlines:
, Air Premia operates an all-Boeing 787-9 fleet composed of the following aircraft:

Fleet development

Air Premia's initial fleet was planned to consist of three Boeing 787-9s, but this was later increased to five. In early 2024, Air Premia planned to increase its fleet with an additional four 787-9s to be leased from Korean Air starting later in 2024, as part of addressing competition concerns with Korean Air's proposed merger of [Korean Air and Asiana Airlines|proposed merger] with Asiana Airlines.
Near the end of 2025, the airline considers adding Airbus widebodies in response to delays in 787 deliveries, in addition to an evaluation of shifting toward narrowbodies to morph to a hub-and-spoke network model.

Service concept

Air Premia operates two cabins and classes of service on its aircraft, consisting of a premium economy cabin consisting of 56 seats in a 2–3–2 layout, and an economy cabin consisting of seats in a 3–3–3 layout, with the numbers in the branding reflecting their respective seat pitch in inches. In contrast to low-cost carriers, Air Premia includes various services complimentarily rather than imposing additional fees for them, such as baggage allowances, in-flight catering, and in-flight entertainment. However, the airline still provides some buy on board services, such as for duty-free sales and Wi-Fi access.