Named for Jeju Island, in South Korea, Jeju Air is the country’s biggest low-cost airline. It was also the first in South Korea to offer low-cost flights. Its hub is on the gorgeous Jeju Island at Jeju International Airport (CJU). I have hopped this airline for its quick domestic routes around Korea numerous times, and I absolutely recommend it to anyone. It may be lower cost, but the service is excellent and works well for island hops.
Jeju Air has its biggest focus on the domestic routes in South Korea, but it does also have a few destinations that are international. Jeju flies to China, Japan, some islands in Oceania and a few other locations dotted around Southeast Asia.
The airline does not have formal agreements in terms of being part of the three large international alliances, but Jeju Air does offer codeshare bookings with a couple airlines. This means you can book flights across these airlines and still ensure the connections work seamlessly, even during delays or cancellations. Jeju codeshares with both Jetstar and Lion Air, and these are particularly good for Southeast Asia in my experience.
Although this airline is not part of a major international alliance, Jeju Air does have its own membership program. It is called Refresh Point and it is free to join. As a member, you’ll collect points for flying, and also when using associated credit cards. You can also buy extra points. The points can be redeemed for flights, gifting to friends and family, adding baggage to bookings, paying for seats and even in-flight meals.
There are a few tiers in this loyalty program: VIP, GOLD, SILVER+ and SILVER. Depending on your level, determined by how many points you have, you can receive discounts on seats, priority boarding, free baggage and additional bonus points.
If you’re a member of Refresh Point with Jeju Air, you also have the benefit of booking without immediate payment and the airline will hold your flight for a period of 24–72 hours. This will lock in the current fare until you decide to purchase the ticket or cancel.
Low-cost airlines often come with many additional costs for services and fees, which can quickly add up. In order to save on some of these, Jeju Air offers bundle options for booking seats, checked baggage and other perks together, in advance. I recommend choosing this for significant savings if you think you might be checking bags or adding on any comfort upgrades.
These bundles come in two categories. PLUS allows carry-on baggage, checked baggage, free economy seat selection, priority boarding and quick claim of your baggage on arrival. PREMIUM PLUS offers carry-on baggage, checked baggage, free seat selection anywhere onboard, priority boarding, quick claim baggage on arrival and a reserved check-in counter at the airport.
Jeju Air has a few fee-based annual memberships for baggage. One is the Sports Membership, where you can pay a fee to with sports equipment for a year. There is also a golf-specific membership that covers your clubs and other golf gear for a year. Lastly, Jeju offers a bicycle membership for one year of traveling freely with a bike enclosed in a proper carry bag.
As part of the Jeju Air brand, the airline offers many discounts and promotions across consumer industries. I have found these overwhelmingly generous and recommend looking into them when offered. They can include K Ride (transportation), K Look (shopping), K Food (cooking classes), and even city tours and exclusive duty-free access.
Check in is available 24 hours before flights and mobile boarding passes are often available but are not always accepted. Flights to China and a few other international destinations do not allow mobile boarding pass access. In these cases, you can still check in online but will need to visit the check-in desk at the airport to receive a printed boarding pass from an agent before proceeding to the gate.
There are also various restrictions on particular fliers receiving their boarding passes. Pregnant women, dual passport holders and a handful of others are all required to complete an in-person check-in at the desk, too.
All tickets can be canceled without penalty within 24 hours of booking, as is the industry standard. After that, fees for any type of change – dates, destinations, passengers, times – sill incur individual fees and these can add up. Also note that changes to reservations booked with points can only receive point refunds if the flight is still at least 91 days from departure.
Take note of this unique quirk: Jeju Air enacts even stricter change and cancellation rules during peak travel periods. I recommend avoiding the airline for leisure travel during these heavy travel periods when these very popular routes can be overwhelming and stressful enough even without the added rules and increased penalties and charges.
Jeju Air has a few service options on their domestic flights, including FLY, FLYBAG, FLEX and BIZ LITE. With FLY you get 23 pounds of carry-on baggage only. FLYBAG offers 23 pounds of carry-on baggage plus 50 pounds of checked luggage. FLEX offers both 23 pounds of carry-on baggage and 50 pounds of checked luggage plus a few additional discounts. And lastly, BIZ LITE offers both 23 pounds of carry-on baggage and 50 pounds of checked luggage with priority services, a premium seat, priority boarding and priority check in.
Jeju Air does have both economy and business class tickets. Economy tickets are standard unless you purchase specific seats with extra space for a fee, or the exit row. Business class, which is called BIZ LITE, comes at a premium, but it’s not extravagantly expensive.
The business class seats are 42 inches apart, have a backrest adjustable by 7 inches, are 18 inches wide and come with a leg rest. These seats also have a power supply and a table for entertainment or work. Economy seats come with a standard 30-inch pitch and are 17 inches wide.
Not all Jeju Air planes have business class. The rest of the fleet simply has economy class with seats that are mostly the same across the aircraft. In a few exceptions, there are larger seats closer to the front of the plane. Jeju Air allows these larger seats to be booked at time of purchase for a minimal added cost.
Jeju Air recommends an extra seat option for those who want to lie down. To do this, purchase the two seats next to you and you’ll have three seats (and the entire row) to yourself. The airline advertises this for both lying down, and for couples traveling together to have more space with an empty middle seat. You can bundle this option to make it more affordable than three individual seats.
Jeju Air does not offer any in-flight entertainment on board. It is currently working on adding Wi-Fi to the fleet. In the meantime, Jeju does charmingly offer onboard magic shows and tarot readings on occasion, with plans to roll out this live entertainment more frequently. For now, I recommend bringing your own entertainment preloaded on fully charged devices.
Jeju Air lets you preorder a meal if you so desire. Menus change by route, but you will often find Korean fare like bibimbap, dumplings and noodles on offer. There are typically also some sandwiches and salads on the menu. You can purchase these once onboard, but if you want to be guaranteed your selection I recommend booking and paying for these in advance. They do have beers and other alcohol, plus soft drinks, coffee and tea, too
Small cats and dogs up to 10 pounds are allowed to fly in the cabin on Jeju Air, and there is a pet menu for these special guests, too. Adorably, four-legged passengers also receive their own special boarding pass, making this one of my favorite airlines for flying with a small pet.
This KAYAK-commissioned article is presented as-is, for general informational purposes only, and may not be up-to-date. The opinions contained in the article are original to the author and reflect their authentic experience, which may vary significantly from the experience of others. Find more perspectives in our user reviews below.
Low season | March |
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High season | October |
Cheapest flight | $127 |
Flight # | Departure Airport | Arrival Airport | Duration | Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
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2405 | Incheon (ICN) | Cebu City (CEB) | 4h 50m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
2508 | Kota Kinabalu (BKI) | Incheon (ICN) | 5h 10m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
2206 | Bangkok (BKK) | Incheon (ICN) | 5h 30m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
2252 | Bangkok (BKK) | Busan (PUS) | 5h 25m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
2428 | Cebu City (CEB) | Daegu (TAE) | 4h 25m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
1502 | Sapporo (CTS) | Incheon (ICN) | 3h 25m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
4908 | Nha Trang (CXR) | Incheon (ICN) | 5h 10m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
2904 | Da Nang (DAD) | Incheon (ICN) | 4h 25m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
2956 | Da Nang (DAD) | Busan (PUS) | 4h 15m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
2312 | Dalat (DLI) | Incheon (ICN) | 5h 10m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
5304 | Denpasar (DPS) | Incheon (ICN) | 7h 5m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
1604 | Shizuoka (FSZ) | Incheon (ICN) | 2h 30m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
1408 | Fukuoka (FUK) | Incheon (ICN) | 1h 35m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
1454 | Fukuoka (FUK) | Busan (PUS) | 1h 5m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
1327 | Seoul (GMP) | Osaka (KIX) | 1h 40m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
3102 | Tamuning (GUM) | Incheon (ICN) | 5h 5m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
2804 | Hanoi (HAN) | Incheon (ICN) | 4h 40m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
1612 | Hiroshima (HIJ) | Incheon (ICN) | 1h 50m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
2102 | Hong Kong (HKG) | Incheon (ICN) | 3h 30m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
2507 | Incheon (ICN) | Kota Kinabalu (BKI) | 5h 40m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
2205 | Incheon (ICN) | Bangkok (BKK) | 6h 15m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
1501 | Incheon (ICN) | Sapporo (CTS) | 2h 40m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
4907 | Incheon (ICN) | Nha Trang (CXR) | 5h 45m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
2903 | Incheon (ICN) | Da Nang (DAD) | 5h 10m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
2311 | Incheon (ICN) | Dalat (DLI) | 5h 35m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
5303 | Incheon (ICN) | Denpasar (DPS) | 7h 10m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
1603 | Incheon (ICN) | Shizuoka (FSZ) | 2h 10m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
1407 | Incheon (ICN) | Fukuoka (FUK) | 1h 35m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
3101 | Incheon (ICN) | Tamuning (GUM) | 4h 20m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
2803 | Incheon (ICN) | Hanoi (HAN) | 5h 10m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
1611 | Incheon (ICN) | Hiroshima (HIJ) | 1h 45m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
2101 | Incheon (ICN) | Hong Kong (HKG) | 4h 5m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
1305 | Incheon (ICN) | Osaka (KIX) | 2h 0m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
2001 | Incheon (ICN) | Macau (MFM) | 4h 0m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
2305 | Incheon (ICN) | Manila (MNL) | 5h 15m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
1771 | Incheon (ICN) | Matsuyama (MYJ) | 1h 40m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
1203 | Incheon (ICN) | Nagoya (NGO) | 2h 0m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
1121 | Incheon (ICN) | Tokyo (NRT) | 2h 25m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
1811 | Incheon (ICN) | Ōita (OIT) | 1h 55m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
4103 | Incheon (ICN) | Phu Quoc (PQC) | 6h 15m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
3211 | Incheon (ICN) | I Fadang (SPN) | 4h 20m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
4409 | Incheon (ICN) | Panglao (TAG) | 5h 15m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
2601 | Incheon (ICN) | Taipei City (TPE) | 2h 55m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
4303 | Incheon (ICN) | Vientiane (VTE) | 5h 50m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
8501 | Incheon (ICN) | Weihai (WEH) | 1h 20m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
1328 | Osaka (KIX) | Seoul (GMP) | 2h 0m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
1306 | Osaka (KIX) | Incheon (ICN) | 2h 0m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
1354 | Osaka (KIX) | Busan (PUS) | 1h 30m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
301 | Gwangju (KWJ) | Jeju City (CJU) | 1h 0m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
2002 | Macau (MFM) | Incheon (ICN) | 3h 45m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
2306 | Manila (MNL) | Incheon (ICN) | 3h 50m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
1772 | Matsuyama (MYJ) | Incheon (ICN) | 1h 55m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
1204 | Nagoya (NGO) | Incheon (ICN) | 2h 15m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
1122 | Tokyo (NRT) | Incheon (ICN) | 3h 0m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
1154 | Tokyo (NRT) | Busan (PUS) | 2h 40m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
1812 | Ōita (OIT) | Incheon (ICN) | 1h 45m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
1802 | Okinawa (OKA) | Incheon (ICN) | 2h 25m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
4104 | Phu Quoc (PQC) | Incheon (ICN) | 5h 10m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
2251 | Busan (PUS) | Bangkok (BKK) | 6h 10m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
2955 | Busan (PUS) | Da Nang (DAD) | 4h 55m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
1451 | Busan (PUS) | Fukuoka (FUK) | 1h 0m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
1353 | Busan (PUS) | Osaka (KIX) | 1h 20m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
1153 | Busan (PUS) | Tokyo (NRT) | 2h 5m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
4055 | Busan (PUS) | Singapore (SIN) | 6h 40m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
2151 | Busan (PUS) | Panglao (TAG) | 4h 40m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
2653 | Busan (PUS) | Taipei City (TPE) | 2h 50m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
4056 | Singapore (SIN) | Busan (PUS) | 6h 40m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
3212 | I Fadang (SPN) | Incheon (ICN) | 4h 50m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
4410 | Panglao (TAG) | Incheon (ICN) | 4h 50m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
2152 | Panglao (TAG) | Busan (PUS) | 4h 10m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
2602 | Taipei City (TPE) | Incheon (ICN) | 2h 25m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
2654 | Taipei City (TPE) | Busan (PUS) | 2h 20m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
4304 | Vientiane (VTE) | Incheon (ICN) | 4h 40m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
8502 | Weihai (WEH) | Incheon (ICN) | 1h 10m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
2552 | Kota Kinabalu (BKI) | Busan (PUS) | 4h 40m | • | • | • | • | • | • | |
2551 | Busan (PUS) | Kota Kinabalu (BKI) | 5h 20m | • | • | • | • | • | • | |
2157 | Busan (PUS) | Angeles City (CRK) | 3h 35m | • | • | • | • | |||
1823 | Incheon (ICN) | Kagoshima (KOJ) | 1h 50m | • | • | • | ||||
1824 | Kagoshima (KOJ) | Incheon (ICN) | 2h 10m | • | • | • | ||||
227 | Cheongju (CJJ) | Jeju City (CJU) | 1h 10m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
228 | Jeju City (CJU) | Cheongju (CJJ) | 1h 15m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
142 | Jeju City (CJU) | Seoul (GMP) | 1h 15m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
306 | Jeju City (CJU) | Gwangju (KWJ) | 1h 0m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
514 | Jeju City (CJU) | Busan (PUS) | 1h 10m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
706 | Jeju City (CJU) | Daegu (TAE) | 1h 10m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
141 | Seoul (GMP) | Jeju City (CJU) | 1h 15m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
907 | Seoul (GMP) | Busan (PUS) | 1h 0m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
513 | Busan (PUS) | Jeju City (CJU) | 1h 10m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
904 | Busan (PUS) | Seoul (GMP) | 1h 5m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
705 | Daegu (TAE) | Jeju City (CJU) | 1h 10m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
2161 | Jeju City (CJU) | Hong Kong (HKG) | 3h 10m | • | • | |||||
5203 | Incheon (ICN) | Ulaanbaatar (UBN) | 3h 50m | • | • | |||||
5204 | Ulaanbaatar (UBN) | Incheon (ICN) | 3h 10m | • | • | |||||
2406 | Cebu City (CEB) | Incheon (ICN) | 4h 45m | • | • | |||||
4604 | Angeles City (CRK) | Incheon (ICN) | 4h 25m | • | • | • | • | • | • | |
4603 | Incheon (ICN) | Angeles City (CRK) | 4h 15m | • | • | • | • | • | • | |
8901 | Incheon (ICN) | Jiamusi (JMU) | 2h 40m | • | ||||||
8902 | Jiamusi (JMU) | Incheon (ICN) | 2h 55m | • | ||||||
1552 | Sapporo (CTS) | Busan (PUS) | 2h 55m | • | • | • | • | • | ||
1551 | Busan (PUS) | Sapporo (CTS) | 2h 40m | • | • | • | • | • | ||
2452 | Cebu City (CEB) | Busan (PUS) | 4h 20m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
2451 | Busan (PUS) | Cebu City (CEB) | 4h 30m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
2427 | Daegu (TAE) | Cebu City (CEB) | 4h 35m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
4558 | Kaohsiung City (KHH) | Busan (PUS) | 2h 35m | • | • | • | ||||
4505 | Seoul (GMP) | Kaohsiung City (KHH) | 3h 30m | • | • | • | ||||
4506 | Kaohsiung City (KHH) | Seoul (GMP) | 2h 45m | • | • | • | ||||
4206 | Chiang Mai (CNX) | Incheon (ICN) | 4h 45m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
4205 | Incheon (ICN) | Chiang Mai (CNX) | 6h 35m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
1801 | Incheon (ICN) | Okinawa (OKA) | 2h 30m | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
8906 | Harbin (HRB) | Incheon (ICN) | 2h 25m | • | • | |||||
8905 | Incheon (ICN) | Harbin (HRB) | 2h 35m | • | • | |||||
4557 | Busan (PUS) | Kaohsiung City (KHH) | 2h 55m | • | • | • |
Known for being the first budget-friendly airline in South Korea, Jeju Air is a company that travels to seven different domestic destinations. Additionally, the airline offers flights to a selection of international destinations, with many of them located in Asia, such as Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, and China.
This airline was created in 2005 by the Aekyung Group, an investment company that is based in South Korea. Several years later, Jeju Air became the founding member of Value Alliance, a group that is the world’s first low-cost airline alliance. The company is also known for having a codeshare agreement with Jetstar Airways, which is a budget-friendly Australian airline.
To help ensure that you enjoy your flight, this airline has a selection of teams that will entertain you at no additional cost. For example, there are Balloon-Blowing Masters that specialize in creating impressive flowers and animals to give to the young people on the flight. For those that enjoy art, you can request the Illustration Team, which will draw caricatures and do face painting. For a bit of extra fun, you can ask for the Game Team, which will play against you in bingo, rock, paper, and scissors, and quizzes. To benefit from any of these, simply speak with the cabin crew on your flight.
Jeju Air has an impressive fleet of over 45 planes, all of which are Boeing. The Boeing 737-800 is employed the most frequently and can fit between 174 and 189 passengers, while the Boeing 737 MAX 8 is used for particularly long flights due to its large fuel capacity.
IATA Code | 7C |
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Routes | 138 |
Top route | Seoul Gimpo Intl Airport to Jeju City |
Airports served | 51 |
Top airport | Jeju City |