Budget carriers' int'l traffic to take off in 2019

Low-cost carriers in South Korea are expected to continue their rapid growth and see international passenger traffic soar nearly 20 percent in 2019, a report said Wednesday.

According to the report from the Korea Transport Institute, local budget carriers' combined international passenger traffic will likely shoot up 19.6 percent on-year to 30.4 million next year.

(Yonhap)

South Korean low-fare airlines have posted stellar performances in terms of international passenger traffic over the past five years with the average annual growth rate reaching roughly 40 percent.

Growth figures were 37.6 percent in 2015, 59.5 percent in 2016 and 42.1 percent in 2017, with the number likely to amount to about 25 percent this year.

"Budget carriers' rapid growth may continue in the coming year thanks to efforts to boost their international passenger traffic capacity by diversifying routes," the report said.

In contrast, local full-service carriers are projected to suffer stagnant growth in their international passenger traffic.

Their international passenger traffic is predicted to gain 0.1 percent on-year to 33.7 million next year.

Over the past five years, full-service carriers have registered an average annual growth rate of 3.8 percent for international passenger traffic.

Buoyed by the expected jump in international passenger traffic, low-fare carriers will likely take up more than 30 percent of the domestic aviation market for the first time, the report said.

It also said the growth rate of South Korea's overall international air passenger traffic is expected to range from 3.3 percent to 9.3 percent next year.

Passenger traffic on routes linking South Korea with Vietnam is forecast to surge 23.4 percent on-year in 2019. Comparable figures are 11.1 percent on routes to China, 9 percent on routes to Japan and 6.2 percent on routes to the United States.

Low-cost carriers' domestic passenger traffic is projected to gain 2.7 percent in the new year, with full-service airlines likely to suffer a 1.5 percent decline, it added. (Yonhap)