Eastar Jet

Eastar Jet (ESR) (Korean: 이스타 항공; RR: Iseuta Hanggong) is a South Korean airline with its headquarters in Banghwa-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul.[1] On January 7, 2009, Eastar Jet made its maiden flight from Gimpo International Airport to Jeju International Airport. Now, the airline operates a scheduled passenger network to 14 destinations in eight countries. Its main base is Gimpo International Airport, with a hub at Jeju International Airport.[2]

Eastar Jet
이스타 항공
IATA ICAO Callsign
ZE ESR EASTAR
Founded26 October 2007 (2007-10-26)
Commenced operations7 January 2009 (2009-01-07)
Operating bases
AllianceU-FLY Alliance
Fleet size31
Destinations12
Parent company
  • Eastar Jet Group
    (2007 ~ 2021)
  • Sung Jung Co., Ltd
    (2021 ~ 2022)
  • VIG Partners
    (2023 ~ Present)
HeadquartersGangseo-gu, Seoul
Key peopleJoong-Seok Cho (President)
Websitewww.eastarjet.com
Eastar Jet
Hangul
Hanja
이스타航空
Revised RomanizationIseuta Hanggong
McCune–ReischauerIsŭt'a Hanggong

Eastar Jet carried 3 million domestic passengers and 2.9 million international passengers in 2018. Its international traffic has doubled over the past three years and its domestic traffic has grown by nearly 50%, indicating a stronger focus on domestic growth while the other Korean low-cost carriers are focusing on the international market.[3]

History

Eastar Jet was established on October 26, 2007, and acquired its air operator's certificate the following year on August 6. On January 7, 2009, Eastar Jet launched its first commercial flight from Seoul to Jeju with a Boeing 737. It commenced operations on its second route - Cheongju-Jeju - on June 12, 2009. Six months after, on December 24, 2009, Eastar Jet launched its first international flight from Incheon to Kuching, Malaysia. Within two years of commencing operations, the airline reached the 1 million mark in passengers carried on January 6, 2010.

The airline joined the U-FLY Alliance on July 27, 2016; it is the fifth member of the alliance.[4]

On 2 March 2020, Jeju Air, one of the South Korean Low-Cost Carrier decided to take over management rights of Eastar Jet and signed a stock trading contract and Jeju Air acquires 51.17% stake of Eastar Jet cost of 54.5 billion won.[5] and Jeju Air's M&A plan got approval from Fair Trade Commission of the Republic of Korea.[6] However, on 23 July 2020, Jeju Air announced that it was to give up the acquisition of Eastar Jet due to economic uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[7][8]

In August 2020, Eastar Jet push forward to re-mergers and acquisitions and selected three companies.[9] Eastar Jet also began restructuring, the plan includes reduction of its fleet of 16 aircraft to 4 and reduce the labor force from 1,200 to 400, however, Jeju Air will rehire all of its dismissed staff.[10]

On June 17, 2021, it was announced that Eastar Jet is set to be acquired for more than US$97 million by property developer and preferred bidder Sung Jung, following an auction for the airline.[11] However, Sung Jung sells the entire stake of Eastar Jet to VIG Partners, private equity fund company on January 2023.[12]

Destinations

As of July 2023, Eastar Jet flies to the following destinations:[13]

Country City Airport Notes Refs
CambodiaSiem ReapSiem Reap International AirportTerminated[14]
ChinaDalianDalian Zhoushuizi International AirportTerminated[13]
HaikouHaikou Meilan International AirportTerminated[15]
HarbinHarbin Taiping International AirportTerminated[13]
JinanJinan Yaoqiang International AirportTerminated[13]
NingboNingbo Lishe International AirportTerminated[16]
ShanghaiShanghai Pudong International AirportTerminated[13]
ShenyangShenyang Taoxian International AirportTerminated[13]
YanjiYanji Chaoyangchuan International AirportTerminated[13]
ZhengzhouZhengzhou Xinzheng International AirportTerminated[15]
Hong KongHong KongHong Kong International AirportTerminated[13]
JapanFukuokaFukuoka AirportResumes 29 October 2023[13][17][18]
IbarakiIbaraki AirportTerminated[13]
KagoshimaKagoshima AirportTerminated[13]
MiyazakiMiyazaki AirportTerminated[13][19]
NahaNaha AirportTerminated[13][20]
OsakaKansai International Airport[13][21]
SapporoNew Chitose AirportTerminated[13]
TokyoHaneda AirportTerminated[13][22]
Narita International Airport[13][21]
MacauMacauMacau International AirportTerminated[23]
MalaysiaKota KinabaluKota Kinabalu International AirportTerminated[13]
Northern Mariana IslandsSaipanSaipan International AirportTerminated
PhilippinesPuerto PrincesaPuerto Princesa International AirportTerminated[13][24]
RussiaVladivostokVladivostok International Airport SeasonalTerminated[25]
SingaporeSingaporeChangi Airport UnscheduledTerminated[26]
South KoreaBusanGimhae International AirportTerminated[13]
CheongjuCheongju International Airport[13][27]
GunsanGunsan Airport[13][28]
JejuJeju International Airport[13][29]
SeoulGimpo International AirportHub[13][29]
Incheon International AirportHub[13]
TaiwanHualienHualien AirportTerminated[13][30]
KaohsiungKaohsiung International AirportTerminated[13]
TaipeiSongshan Airport[13][31]
Taoyuan International AirportResumes 20 November 2023[13][32][33][34]
ThailandBangkokSuvarnabhumi Airport[13][35]
VietnamDa NangDa Nang International Airport[13][36][35]
HanoiNoi Bai International AirportTerminated[13][37][38]
Nha TrangCam Ranh International AirportResumes 29 October 2023[13][39][18]
Phu QuocPhu Quoc International Airport SeasonalTerminated[13]

Codeshare agreements

The airline has a codeshare agreement with following airlines:

Fleet

Current fleet

As of April 2022, Eastar Jet operates an all-Boeing 737 fleet composed of the following aircraft:[42][43][44][45]

Boeing 737-800
Boeing 737 MAX 8
Eastar Jet fleet
Aircraft In Service Orders Passengers Notes
Boeing 737-800 4 — 189
Boeing 737 MAX 8 4 — 189 Redeliveries from June 2023[46]
Total 8 0

Retired Fleet

Eastar Jet has previously operated the following aircraft types:[47]

Boeing 737-600
Boeing 737-700
Boeing 737 MAX 8
Eastar Jet retired fleet
Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Notes
Boeing 737-600 1 2008 2013
Boeing 737-700 6 2009 2018
Boeing 737-800 20 2012 2020
Boeing 737-900ER 2 2017 2020
Boeing 737 MAX 8 2 2018 2021

See also

References
  1. "Office addresses". Eastar Air Inc. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  2. "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-03. p. 97.
  3. "South Korea aviation market: a decade of rapid growth driven by LCCs". CAPA. 2 June 2019.
  4. "이스타항공, LCC 연합체 '유플라이 얼라이언스' 가입" (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. 28 July 2016.
  5. "제주항공, 이스타항공 인수 계약...545억 규모" (in Korean). YTN News. 2 March 2020.
  6. "공정위, 제주항공 이스타항공 인수 승인" (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. 23 April 2020.
  7. "제주항공, 이스타항공 인수 포기 공식 발표" (in Korean). KBS. 23 July 2020.
  8. "공정위제주항공, 결국 이스타항공 인수 포기 "불확실성 너무 커"" (in Korean). SBS. 23 July 2020.
  9. "이스타항공, 재매각 속도…매각주간사 3곳 선정" (in Korean). EBN News. 19 August 2020.
  10. "'생존 본능'...이스타항공, '기재 6대·700명 이상 감원' 가닥" (in Korean). Asia Times. 20 August 2020.
  11. 최경애 (2021-06-17). "Preliminary preferred bidder set to acquire Eastar: sources". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
  12. "사모펀드 VIG, 이스타항공 인수…1천100억 투입 자본잠식 해소" [Private Equity Fund VIG Acquires Eastar Jet...Eliminating 110 Billion-Input Capital Erosion]. Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). 30 January 2023.
  13. "Flight route map". Eastar Jet.
  14. "EastarJet to Resume Seoul – Siem Reap Service from Dec 2013". airlineroute. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
  15. "EastarJet adds new routes to China in Sep 2019". Routesonline. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  16. "EastarJet Adds Cheongju – Ningbo Service from late-March 2016". airlineroute. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  17. "EastarJet Delays Fukuoka Launch to late-July 2016". routesonline. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  18. "이스타항공, 10월 29일 인천∼후쿠오카·나트랑 노선 취항" [Eastar Jet, launches to Incheon~Fukuoka·Nha Trang route] (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. 1 September 2023.
  19. "EastarJet adds Miyazaki service from Dec 2017". routesonline. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  20. "Eastarjet Adds Seoul - Okinawa Service from late-Oct 2015". Airlineroute.net. 22 September 2015. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  21. "'국제선 재개' 이스타항공, 9월 20일 도쿄·오사카 노선 취항" ['Resuming international route' Eastar Jet, launches Tokyo·Osaka in 20 September] (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. 18 July 2023.
  22. "EastarJet adds Seoul Incheon – Tokyo Haneda in Sep/Oct 2018". Routesonline. 20 August 2018.
  23. "Eastar Jet adds Macau service from Nov 2019". Routesonline. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  24. "EastarJet adds Puerto Princesa service from late-Oct 2018". airlineroute. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  25. "EastarJet adds Vladivostok service from June 2018".
  26. "[International Flight] Notice on New Flights for Busan-Singapore Route (PUS-SIN)". www.eastarjet.com. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
  27. "이스타항공, 8월부터 청주-제주 노선 운항 재개" [Eastar Jet, resumes Cheongju-Jeju route in August] (in Korean). NBN. 15 June 2023.
  28. "이스타항공, 내달 군산∼제주 노선 신규 취항" [Eastar Jet, launches Gunsan~Jeju route in next month] (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. 6 September 2023.
  29. "Eastar to resume flights this month for turnaround". Yonhap News Agency. 14 March 2023.
  30. "EastarJet adds Hualien service in W19". Routesonline. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  31. "EastarJet 3Q23 Network Additions". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  32. "EastarJet Adds Seoul Incheon - Taipei Taoyuan Service from late-March 2016". Airlineroute.net. 30 January 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  33. "이스타항공, 12월부터 지방발 국제선 재개" [Eastar Jet, re launching international route from regional from December] (in Korean). Chosun Biz. 27 September 2023.
  34. "이스타항공, 내달 20일 인천∼대만 타오위안 노선 운항 재개" [Eastar Jet, re-launching Incheon~Taiwan's Taoyuan route from 20th in next month] (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. 5 October 2023.
  35. "'이스타항공, 9월 20일부터 방콕·다낭 노선 취항" ['Eastar Jet', launching Bangkok·Da Nang route ionn 20 September] (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. 20 July 2023.
  36. "EastarJet plans Da Nang launch from mid-June 2017". routesonline. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  37. "EastarJet adds Hanoi service from Nov 2016". routesonline. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  38. Eastar Jet announcement
  39. "EastarJet expands Vietnam network in Feb 2019". routesonline. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  40. "Eastar Jet signs code-sharing deal with Chinese LCC". Yonhap News Agency. 24 July 2019.
  41. "EastarJet / T'Way Airlines to Start Seoul – Taipei Codeshare Service from late-April 2013". routesonline. 8 April 2013.
  42. "보유항공기 소개" [Fleet]. eastarjet.com.
  43. "항공기 등록현황" [Aircraft registration status]. atis.koca.go.kr (in Korean). Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
  44. "Eastar Jet Fleet Details and History". planespotters.net. 23 August 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  45. Taylor, Ellis (2018-12-20). "PICTURE: Eastar Jet takes delivery of its first 737 Max [sic] 8". Flightglobal.com. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
  46. "Eastar Jet again takes delivery of B737 MAX 8". ch-aviation.com. 2 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  47. "Eastar Jet Fleet Details and History - Historic Fleet". Planespotters.net. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.

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