South Korea’s so-called hybrid airline Air Premia will be launching a new route in a few weeks’ time that will offer more options for travels to travel to the US east coast. This is the first time in over a couple of decades there will be a non-stop flight between Seoul to Newark.
Air Premia Will Launch Non-Stop Flights From Seoul To Newark
Air Premia will be launching its second US route after Los Angeles(LAX) in May 2023. The inaugural Seoul/Incheon to Newark flight will be on May 22, 2023, under flight number YP131.
The airline will be flying to Newark(EWR) under the following schedules:
- Seoul/Incheon(ICN) – Newark(EWR): 4x weekly (Sun, Mon, Wed, Fri)
- YP131 departing Seoul at 21:05 and arriving at Newark at 22:00
The inbound flight will be as follows:
- Newark(EWR) – Seoul/Incheon(ICN): 4x weekly (Mon, Tue, Thu, Sat)
- YP131 departing Newark at 00:30 and arriving at Seoul at 04:25(+1 day)
The 6,896-mile journey will be blocked at 13hr 55min westbound and 14hr55min eastbound.
Which Aircraft Air Premia Will Use To Operate This Route
Air Premia ordered 5 Boeing B787-9 Dreamliners and currently has three aircraft in its fleet. The remaining two will be soon delivered. It is interesting that the airline received ex-Norwegian, now Norse Atlantic B787s which still have never been delivered. That is why when you fly on two current aircraft, they will still have the Norwegian cabin configurations.
The B787-9s will feature either 309 or 338 seats with 56 premium economy seats. I experienced Air Premia in January from Ho Chi Minh City(SGN) to Seoul(ICN) and I found it satisfying but I am still confused about its identity.
The airline is clearly a low-cost carrier with a mixture of full-cost hence you will receive complimentary meals on board as well as purchase extra snacks and drinks too. One of the features I like is there is a complementary 15kg of checked-in baggage allowance included in the basic fare drawing the attention of many backpackers and travelers.
My Take On Air Premia Launching Newark Flights
It is great to see a non-stop route being introduced from Seoul to Newark since the 1970~80s. This will enable competition between South Korea’s major airlines: Korean Air and Asiana Airlines which currently flies to New York JFK.
The pricing competition is also great for Air Premia as a round trip from Seoul starts from $919 and $1,300 from Newark. Korean Air generally charges around $1,600 up to $2,000 for economy class so this clearly could attract customers to visit the east coast.
This will also give passengers options to choose from five daily services to New York.
The only major concern is that since there are only five aircraft in its fleet and it flies to five different destinations if there is a mechanical or technical problem that affects the schedule, there might be a chain of events with delays and cancellations.
This incident happened back in December when Air Premia collided with Lao Airlines at Incheon Airport. With the aircraft grounded, the airline had to lease Asiana’s aircraft to operate shuttle flights to carry back stranded passengers.
Summary
Air Premia will be launching Seoul to Neward non-stop flights starting May 22, 2023. These two routes have not been served since the 1980s so it will be an exciting new route for South Korean passengers as the majority of them are currently relying on the JFK route nowadays.
