On Sunday, South Korean low-cost carrier Eastar Jet announced that it has restarted international flights after a 3 1/2-year break due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The budget airline’s inaugural flight was from Gimpo to Songsan in Taiwan on Saturday.
Eastar Jet has also planned to offer flights from Incheon to Tokyo, Osaka, Bangkok, Da Nang, Fukuoka, and Nha Trang, beginning on September 20 and October 29, respectively. Domestic flights restarted a month after the carrier received an air operator certificate (AOC) from the transport ministry in March.
Prior to the pandemic, Eastar Jet operated 23 B737-800s to serve a total of 38 domestic and international routes. The airline is aiming to increase the number of its chartered planes to 10 by the end of this year, with three B737-800s and one B737-8 being added.
In January 2021, Eastar applied for court receivership after failing to find a strategic investor. Local property developer Sung Jung Co. then acquired the entire stake in Eastar, and private equity fund VIG Partners injected 110 billion won into the carrier. Eastar’s goal for this year is to reach 146 billion won in sales, compared to 551 billion won in sales in 2019.