Air Premia

Air Premia (에어프레미아, IATA code YP) is a South Korean long-haul airline based in Seoul, with its hub at Incheon International Airport. It does not call itself a low-cost airline: its corporate site describes it as Korea's first long-haul hybrid airline, founded in July 2017, offering what it calls essential services at a premium level with reasonable fares. Unlike most low-cost airlines, its fares include checked baggage, meals and seatback entertainment, while items such as Wi-Fi and duty-free are sold on board.

History

The company was founded on 27 July 2017 by Kim Jong-chul, a former president of Jeju Air. It originally planned to start in 2020 with Asian regional routes, but switched its focus to long-haul flights to Europe and North America. Its first Boeing 787-9 arrived in April 2021, and passenger flights began on 11 August 2021 between Seoul and Jeju. Domestic flying ended on 30 October 2021, and the airline has been international-only since.

Network

From Incheon, Air Premia flies to Tokyo Narita and Bangkok (both from 2022), Los Angeles (2022), Newark (2023), San Francisco (2024), Hong Kong and Da Nang (January 2025) and Washington Dulles (April 2026), and resumed Honolulu in July 2025. Wikipedia lists Sapporo New Chitose as planned from December 2026 and Ho Chi Minh City as resuming in November 2026. Five of these routes are in the United States: Honolulu, Los Angeles, Newark, San Francisco and Washington Dulles. Frankfurt and Singapore have been dropped. The airline has interline agreements with Alaska Airlines, Korean Air, Thai Airways and Trinity Airways.

Fleet and cabins

Air Premia flies only the Boeing 787-9. A Wikipedia fleet table dated July 2026 lists nine. There are two cabins. The front cabin, which Air Premia now calls Wide Premium, has a 42-inch seat pitch; Wikipedia gives it 56 seats in a 2-3-2 layout. Economy is laid out 3-3-3 with, according to Wikipedia, a 35-inch pitch. In late 2025 the airline was reported to be looking at Airbus wide-bodies because of Boeing delivery delays, and at narrow-bodies for a hub-and-spoke model; no order had been confirmed in the sources checked.

Fares

Economy is sold as Lite, Standard and Flex fares. As of October 2026 all three include checked baggage, but Lite has a lower allowance, especially on routes outside the Americas (see the baggage section).