Globe Air Cargo Korea, the GSSA for the first Korean Hybrid Service Carrier (HSC), Air Premia, will soon be promoting the extra cargo capacity of the airline as it adds new destinations from its hub at Incheon International Airport (ICN).
Currently, between 150 and 200 tonnes of cargo pass through Air Premia’s Incheon warehouse each week, serving destinations across Asia, Europe, and the US.
With the launch of flights to Los Angeles (LAX) in the summer of 2022, Air Premia became the first Korean HSC to offer a scheduled US destination in its network. That has now grown to two since Newark (EWR) operations began on 22 May 2023.
Furthermore, in Europe, charter services started this summer to include Frankfurt (FRA), Barcelona (BCN), and Oslo (OSL).
With Air Premia primarily managing its passenger services, Globe Air Cargo Korea (part of the ECS Group) ensures that all cargo duties are covered; from cargo sales and reservations to managing the handling of regular and full charter flights.
A wide range of commodities travel into and out of the airline’s main hub at Incheon Airport, including air and sea e-commerce shipments, electronic equipment, machinery, and auto spare parts.
H.E. Shin, chief executive of Globe Air Cargo Korea, said: “Globe Air Cargo Korea has diligently supported Air Premia from the very beginning of its cargo journey just one and half years ago.
“Since then, Air Premia’s fleet has grown to five Boeing 787-900, with another four aircraft to come before the end of 2024, and it is well on target to achieving profitability in 2024 as planned.”
“In that time, Globe Air Cargo Korea has created a firm cargo customer base and we are looking forward to also promoting the upcoming network expansion which offers forwarders excellent and much-needed capacity to key destinations out of Incheon Airport.”
Adrien Thominet, executive chairman of the ECS Group, said: “It is impressive to see how quickly Air Premia and Globe Air Cargo Korea are ramping up cargo operations since the first passenger-to-cargo charter flight in late December 2021.
“And this growth is proof that an ambitious, modern airline with an experienced cargo GSSA partner at its side, can carve a strong niche in a competitive market long served by established national carriers. ECS Group is proud to share in Air Premia’s on-going success.”
Sean C. Kang, executive vice president of Air Premia, said: “Air Premia has achieved remarkable results since it began operations in 2021. With five B787-9s, we are operating passenger flights to Los Angeles, New York, Frankfurt, Ho Chi Minh, Bangkok, and Narita. We expect to achieve revenue of 300 million with 23 millions dollar operation profit this year.
“Next year, we plan to aggressively expand our network to the Americas and Europe by introducing more than four additional B787-9s.
“We have overcome the difficult environment of the pandemic and achieved such success in a short period of time thanks to the dedicated and professional contribution of ECS Group, the global GSSA of us.
“I believe Air Premia is now facing a great opportunity of expansion. We expect that ECS Group will make a significant contribution to the expansion of our business in the upcoming years.”