SEOUL, Nov. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — With the ‘living with COVID-19’ scheme set in motion, the nation’s budget airline industry is set to make up for lost income caused by the pandemic.
South Korea’s low-cost carriers (LCCs) including Jin Air Co., Jeju Air Co. and T’Way Air Co. are staging a range of sales events to attract passengers, with the airlines still reeling from record operating losses last year.
The timing of the industry’s promotional events overlaps with the national college entrance exam (2022 College Scholastic Ability Test) with nearly 510,000 students expected to take the test on Thursday.
Jeju Air and T’Way Air, for example, are promoting half-price tickets for one-way trips on the Gimpo to Busan route for the test day.
With international flights grounded by COVID-19, LCCs have been forced to rely on domestic flights, leaving domestic routes saturated, aggravating the industry’s woes.
During the first quarter of this year, only Korean Air Lines Co. — helped by its cargo business — posted a profit, with the rest of the industry including Asiana Airlines Inc., the country’s second-largest airline, suffering significant losses.
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