By Hyunjoo Jin and Dan Catchpole
SEOUL/SEATTLE (Reuters) – Before struggling the deadliest crash in South Korea’s historical past, funds airline Jeju Air was transferring quick: racking up file numbers of passengers and flying its planes greater than rivals nationwide and lots of of its international opponents, the information exhibits.
The excessive “utilization fee” of Jeju Air’s planes – the variety of hours flown in a day – shouldn’t be in itself an issue, consultants say, however it means it’s essential to schedule ample time for required upkeep.
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Authorities have prompt {that a} fowl strike contributed to the crash, however as a part of their investigation into the crash aboard the Boeing 737-800, police raided the airline’s Seoul workplace to grab paperwork associated to the operation and plane upkeep.
“You’re actually taking a look at every thing,” mentioned Anthony Brickhouse, an aviation security and accident investigation skilled. “You’ll begin with the incident and security historical past. What sort of occasions have they’d prior to now, what occurred, what was completed to right the issues?”
Jeju Air instructed Reuters it could not neglect upkeep procedures and would step up its security efforts. The Dec. 29 crash, which killed 179 individuals, was the airline’s first deadly crash since its founding in 2005 and the primary for any Korean airline in additional than a decade.
The firm’s chief government, Kim E-bae – who has been barred from touring overseas through the investigation – mentioned at a press convention final week that Jeju’s upkeep is consistent with regulatory requirements and that it doesn’t there have been upkeep issues with the doomed plane through the pre-flight part. inspection.
He acknowledged that the airline’s safety measures had not been ample prior to now, however mentioned enhancements had been made.
Authorities haven’t mentioned poor upkeep contributed to the crash, and the precise circumstances behind the catastrophe stay unclear.
In addition to the reported fowl strike, authorities are investigating why the pilot could have rushed a second touchdown try after declaring an emergency and why the touchdown gear was not used.
Investigators recovered the cockpit and flight information recorders however haven’t launched any particulars.
The nation’s transportation regulator is inspecting all 101,737-800s in South Korea – greater than a 3rd of that are operated by Jeju Air – specializing in the frequency and high quality of upkeep on the planes, amongst different concerns.
While it has not recorded any violations prior to now two years, it has been hit with extra fines and suspensions for violations of aviation legal guidelines than any of its home rivals in 2020-2022, proper throughout and after the COVID-19 pandemic, because the logs present.
According to Ministry of Transportation information on main airways from 2020 to August 2024, Jeju Air was hit with about 2.3 billion received ($1.57 million) in fines and the affected planes have been saved out of service for a complete of 41 days, based on Reuters calculations primarily based on the information.
The second most penalized airline, T’way Air, needed to pay 2.1 billion received in fines and 4 days of suspension of operations throughout that interval.
Jeju Air flies its planes greater than another main airline within the nation, information exhibits, and in addition outperforms most international rivals reminiscent of Ireland’s Ryanair and Malaysia’s AirAsia.
Jeju Air 7C2216 was flying from the Thai capital Bangkok to Muan in southwestern South Korea at night time when it landed belly-down, overshot the runway and caught hearth after hitting an embankment. The airplane flew each day in 2024, based on flight information reviewed by Reuters.
USAGE RATES
High utilization charges are prized within the business as an indicator of financial effectivity, particularly at low-cost airways, consultants say.
Jeju Air, which ranks behind solely Korea Air and Asiana Air when it comes to passenger quantity within the nation, recorded file numbers from January to December 2024, based on information from the Ministry of Transportation.
According to inventory change filings, its month-to-month utilization hours for passenger plane almost doubled to 412 in 2023 in comparison with 2022, increased than Korea Air’s 332 hours and Asiana Airlines’ 304 hours.
According to their paperwork, T’way logged a mean of 366 hours per 30 days on mixed passenger and cargo plane, Jin Air logged a mean of 349 hours, and Air Busan 319 hours.
In 2024, Jeju Air flew its planes extra every day – 11.6 hours – than nearly all different airways that provide low cost tickets and fly solely narrowbody planes, based on information from aviation analytics agency Cirium, which calculates utilization charges in a different way than earnings statements.
Only Saudi Arabia’s Air Arabia flew its planes extra: 12.5 hours a day. Vietnam’s VietJet flew its planes 10 hours a day. Ryanair’s common utilization was 9.3 hours, whereas Malaysia’s AirAsia was 9 hours. China’s Spring Airlines flew 8 hours a day.
“The utilization itself shouldn’t be an issue,” mentioned Sim Jai-dong, a professor of plane upkeep at Sehan University in South Korea. “But there could also be elevated fatigue for pilots, crew members and mechanics, given the upper utilization charges.”
($1 = 1,453.9500 received)
(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin in Seoul, Dan Catchpole in Seattle, Sophie Yu in Beijing and Joanna Plucinska in London; Editing by John Geddie and Gerry Doyle)
