Jin Air to launch international flights – to Bangkok, Macao, Osaka, Weihai and Guam

Jin Air, the low-cost airline based in Seoul in South Korea, will start operating its first international flights on October 29, 2009 – from Incheon in South Korea to Macao in China and Bangkok in Thailand.

The airline also will launch flights from Incheon to Osaka in Japan on December 17, 2009; to Weihai in Shandong, China, on December 23, 2009; and to Guam on January 13, 2010.

The flights to Bangkok, Osaka and Weihai will be operated 7 times a week; the service to Macao 4 times a week; and to Guam 4 times a week.

The fares to all these destinations will be 20%-30% lower than those charged by bigger airlines, Jin Air, a subsidiary of Korean Air, said in a statement.

The daily flights on the Incheon-Bangkok route will leave Seoul/Incheon at 08.00 a.m. and reach Bangkok at 11.50 a.m. the same day. In the return direction, the flight will take off from Bangkok at 13.15 p.m. and land in Seoul/Incheon at 20.20 p.m. the same day.

This schedule will enable passengers to save half a day since other South Korea-based airlines leave Incheon in the evening, according to Kim Jae-kun, president and CEO of Jin Air.
On the Incheon-Macau route, flights will depart Seoul/Incheon on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 21.40 p.m. and reach Macau at 00.20 a.m. the next day. On the return leg, the flights will leave Macau at 01.40 a.m. and land in Seoul/Incheon at 06.10 a.m. the same day.

Addressing a new conference on July 16, 2009 – held to mark the first anniversary of the airline – Kim also announced the airline’s new environment-friendly management strategy.

Jin Air – with the slogan ‘Save the Air’ – will launch a campaign in September 2009 with a view to reducing aircraft weight to use less fuel. The carrier will give passengers without baggage a 1,000-won discount for the fare when they book a Jin Air flight the next time.

Jin Air also will sell T-shirts on which the ‘Save the Air’ slogan is printed. The proceeds from this will be donated to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Kim said. The T-shirts are available on the website savetheair.jinair.com

At present, Jin Air operates only domestic flights between Seoul and Jeju; and between Busan and Jeju.

Jin Air started operations in July 2008, with flights between Gimpo International Airport in Seoul and Jeju International Airport.