Jeju Air’s operating profit for the quarter ended 31 March increased by 70% to W46.2 billion ($42.8 million), as the carrier benefited from peak demand in its Japan and Southeast Asian markets.

Revenue increased by 29% over the same period last year to W240 million, while net profit more than doubled to W36.1 billion.

The carrier stated in an investor presentation that passenger revenue from Japan increased 47% year-on-year as it focused on creating demand from second-tier cities. Revenue from Southeast Asia was also up 25%.

Load factor was broadly stable at 91.9%, as ASKs increased 20.9% and RPKs by 22.3%. Most of the increased capacity was deployed on international services.

The carrier’s aircraft utilisation increased to 14.3 hours per aircraft, compared to 13.4 hours during the fourth quarter of 2017. It ended the period with a fleet of 32 Boeing 737-800s.

Source: Cirium Dashboard