Korea’s Air Premia extends US network
31 / 08 / 2023
Photo: IBS Software
Korea’s Air Premia has added Frankfurt and New York Newark to its summer flight schedule from Incheon. The carrier also expects to add further new destinations in 2024, as it expands its aircraft fleet.
Its general sales and service agent (GSSA), Globe Air Cargo Korea reports that 150-200 tonnes of cargo now pass through Air Premia’s Incheon warehouse each week.
With the introduction of flights to Los Angeles in summer 2022, Air Premia became the first Korean ‘hybrid’ carrier to offer a scheduled US destination in its network, and this has now increased to two with the addition of Newark.
Other additions to the route network this summer include Barcelona and Oslo.
Freight handled at Incheon include e-commerce shipments, electronic equipment, machinery and automotive spares.
Globe Air Cargo Korea chief executive, HE Shin said that the GSSA had “diligently supported Air Premia from the very beginning of its cargo journey just one and half years ago. Since then, Air Premia’s fleet has grown to five Boeing 787-900, with another four aircraft to come before the end of 2024, and it is well on target to achieving profitability in 2024 as planned”.
Shin added that Globe Air Cargo Korea has created a firm cargo customer base: “We are looking forward to also promoting the upcoming network expansion which offers forwarders excellent and much-needed capacity to key destinations out of Incheon Airport.”
Adrien Thominet, executive chairman of Globe Air parent, ECS Group, commented: “It is impressive to see how quickly Air Premia and Globe Air Cargo Korea are ramping up cargo operations since the first passenger-to-cargo charter flight in late December 2021.
“This is proof that an ambitious, modern airline with an experienced cargo GSSA partner at its side can carve a strong niche in a competitive market long served by established national carriers.”
Air Premia executive vice president , Sean Kang, commented: “Air Premia has achieved remarkable results since it began operations in 2021. With five B787-9s, we are operating passenger flights to Los Angeles, New York, Frankfurt, Ho Chi Minh, Bangkok, and Narita. We expect to achieve revenue of US$300 million with $23 operational profit this year.
“Next year, we plan to aggressively expand our network to the Americas and Europe by introducing four additional B787-9s. We have overcome the difficult environment of the pandemic and achieved such success in a short period of time thanks to the dedicated and professional contribution of ECS.
“We expect that ECS Group will make a significant contribution to the expansion of our business in upcoming years.”
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