Air Premia, Inc. (Korean:에어프레미아) is a South Korean airline based in Seoul. It describes itself as a "hybrid airline", providing a higher level of service than low-cost airlines while having lower operating costs than larger, full-service airlines. The airline was founded in 2017 by the former president of Jeju Air, Kim Jong-chul.
History
Air Premia was established on July 27, 2017, by the ex-president of Jeju Air, Kim Jong-chul. In April 2019, the airline intended to launch in 2020 and lease three Boeing 787-9s from Air Lease Corporation (ALC), but later announced that it had agreed to purchase five. The airline was initially expected to launch with regional routes within Asia, but later intended to operate long-haul routes to Europe and the United States.
In April 2021, Air Premia received its first Boeing 787-9, with plans to operate 10 aircraft by the end of 2024. On August 11, 2021, the airline celebrated its inauguration of flights with a domestic service between Seoul and Jeju. Domestic services ended on October 30, 2021, as the airline prepared to transition to exclusively operating international routes. These consisted of a mix of scheduled, chartered, passenger, and dedicated cargo services to destinations in Asia, Europe, and North America.
Air Premia's initial fleet was planned to consist of three Boeing 787-9s, but this was later increased to five. In early 2024, Air Premia planned to increase its fleet with an additional four 787-9s to be leased from Korean Air starting later in 2024, as part of addressing competition concerns with Korean Air's proposed merger with Asiana Airlines.
Near the end of 2025, the airline considered adding Airbus widebodies in response to delays in 787 deliveries, in addition to an evaluation of shifting toward narrowbodies to morph to a hub-and-spoke network model.
Former fleet
As of June2025[update], Air Premia operated 9 Boeing 787-9.
Service concept
Air Premia operates two cabins and classes of service on its aircraft, consisting of a premium economy cabin (branded as Premia 42) consisting of 56 seats in a 2–3–2 layout, and an economy cabin (branded as Economy 35) consisting of seats in a 3–3–3 layout, with the numbers in the branding reflecting their respective seat pitch in inches. In contrast to low-cost carriers, Air Premia includes various services complimentarily rather than imposing additional fees for them, such as baggage allowances, in-flight catering, and in-flight entertainment. However, the airline still provides some buy on board services, such as for duty-free sales and Wi-Fi access.
↑Jang, Yong-seok (March 24, 2023). "에어프레미아, 팬데믹 이후 최초 5월 노르웨이 직항로 취항"[Air Premia, launches direct route to Norway in May for the first time since pandemic]. Global Economic (in Korean).
↑"에어프레미아, 타이항공과 노선 연계운항…미주∼동남아 환승↑"[Air Premia and Thai Airways connecting routes by interline agreement…higher connectivity to Americas and South East Asia]. Yonhap News Agency. March 26, 2026.
↑"티웨이항공·에어프레미아 국제선 연결…인터라인 협약 체결"[T'way Air·Air Premia connecting there international flights…interline agreement signed]. Hankyung News. September 5, 2025.
↑"Global Airline Guide 2026 - Air Premia". Airliner World. October 2026. p.17.
↑"에어프레미아, 좌석 18개 줄이고 이코노미 간격 31→33인치로"[Air Premia, reduce 18 seats and widen the economy class width to 31→33 inch]. Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
