From K-pop to cargo: Budget airlines seek new lifelines

Korea's budget airlines are fighting for every won. Local low-cost carriers are slashing costs, redeploying staff and even turning aircraft into K-pop billboards as soaring fuel prices and the prolonged depreciation of local currency force the industry into survival mode.

Eastar Jet CEO Cho Jung-seok recently emailed all 1,444 employees — whom he likened to as “my mentors” — and invited the workers to freely share ideas for improving management and voice workplace concerns, according to the airline industry on Saturday.

Industry officials say the CEO's unconventional outreach has been interpreted as the start of a company-wide innovation initiative to cut costs through operational improvements rather than resorting to restructuring or layoffs. 

“Suggestions are pouring into the CEO's inbox, which range from ways to diversify revenue and strengthen growth strategies to ideas for improving safety in the frontline where they serve customers,” an Eastar Jet representative said. “The goal is to uncover opportunities that management may have overlooked.”

The airline is also redeploying talent to customer-facing operations, with more than 20 employees from back-office functions reassigned to sales and customer experience teams to help boost profitability and competitiveness.

Some airlines are also transforming aircraft into giant flying billboards to tap into the spending power of global K-pop fandoms.

Jeju Air recently unveiled a special aircraft livery featuring artwork of K-pop boy band ZeroBaseOne's sixth EP. The aircraft has entered service on international routes and will continue flying through the end of the year.

The strategy aims to position the aircraft as more than just transportation by turning it into an extension of the fan experience and a travel attraction in its own right.

It also mirrors a broader trend in the airline industry, where carriers are looking beyond ticket sales to become one-stop travel platforms spanning the entire journey.

Jeju Air expects not only to attract passengers eager to fly on the themed aircraft but also to generate additional advertising revenue through the aircraft livery.

Sono Trinity Group, formerly known as Daemyung Sono Group, is pursuing a similar transformation following its acquisition of local budget carrier T'way Air. The company is renaming the airline to “Trinity Air” and accelerating plans to build an integrated tourism platform that connects its airline, hotel and resort businesses.

Budget airlines, long dependent on passenger traffic, are also diversifying their revenue by expanding cargo operations.

Without dedicated freighter aircraft, low-cost carriers are maximizing the use of belly cargo space beneath passenger cabins.

Shipments from Chinese e-commerce platforms such as AliExpress, Temu and Shein have remained strong. At the same time, demand for high-value cargo such as semiconductors and equipment used in AI data centers has grown, which has made belly cargo an increasingly important source of revenue.

Air Premia transported 21,424 metric tons of net cargo, excluding passenger baggage, during the first half of this year — up 52.5 percent from 14,055 tons during the same period a year earlier.

Over the same period, T'way Air transported 18,000 tons of net cargo, a 37 percent increase from 13,000 tons in the same period last year.

Eastar Jet, which launched cargo service on its Bangkok route last year, has expanded the business to include Tokyo, Taipei, Shanghai and Da Nang this year. It has expanded its cargo network to 10 routes.

Aero K also completed the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's approval process for cargo operations last Tuesday. It plans to begin transporting cargo on routes departing from Incheon later this month.

“With no end to the uncertainty in sight, airlines are increasingly racing to carve out niche markets and diversify their revenue streams,” an airline industry source said.

BY KIM SU-MIN [[email protected]]