Korean budget carriers gain over 30 pct of domestic market

SEOUL, Oct. 9 (Yonhap) -- Four South Korean low-cost carriers saw their share of
the domestic market top 30 percent in the third quarter thanks mainly to their
price competitiveness, industry sources said Friday.
The carriers -- Jeju Air Co., Jin Air Co., Air Busan Co. and Eastar Jet Co.-- had
a combined market share of 31.1 percent in the July-September period, up from
25.8 percent in the second quarter and 20.8 percent in the first quarter, the
sources said.
It was the first time for their total domestic market share to exceed the
30-percent mark.
In the third quarter, Air Busan had the top market share of 8.7 percent, trailed
by Jin Air with 7.9 percent and Eastar Jet with 7.4 percent.
Jeju Air, the biggest budget carrier, saw its market share fall to 7.2 percent in
the third quarter from 8 percent in the first quarter, as it started offering
regular overseas flights from Incheon, the nation's main gateway, to the Japanese
cities of Osaka and Kitakyushu last March.
Hit by the low-cost carriers' rapid growth, the local market share of the
country's two full-service carriers-- Korean Air Lines Co. and Asiana Airlines
Inc.-- came to 68.9 percent in the third quarter.
ksnam@yna.co.kr
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