Air Busan Co., Ltd., operating as Air Busan () is a low-cost airline based in

Busanjin-gu Busanjin District () is a ''Subdivisions of South Korea, gu'' in central Busan, South Korea. It has an area of 29.7 km2, and a population of about 410,000. The name is sometimes abbreviated locally as "Jin-gu". Busanjin District is home ...

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

, South Korea. It is a subsidiary of

Asiana Airlines Asiana Airlines Inc. ( ) is a South Korean airline headquartered in Seoul.Home
." Asiana Airlines. Retrieved 13 September 2 ...

. The airline began its operation in 2007 as Busan International Airlines Company (); it launched service in October 2008. Air Busan is South Korea's third-largest low-cost airline, carrying 4.5 million domestic and 3.6 million international passengers in 2018. Air Busan has grown international passenger traffic by 122% over the past three years, while domestic traffic has grown by 38%.

History

Busan International Airlines Co., Ltd. was established in August 2007. In February the following year, the corporate name was changed to Air Busan Co., Ltd. and an investment agreement was signed by the city of Busan and Asiana Airlines. In April 2008, the company ordered its first aircraft, five Boeing 737s. Two months later, the company was granted a license for regular air transportation. In October 2008, bases were established at Gimpo airport and Jeju international airport and the airline commenced operations between

and

Gimpo Gimpo (; ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It borders Incheon, with which it shares the South Korean side of the Han River (Korea), Han River estuary, as well as Seoul and the lesser cities o ...

. In April 2009, the airline took delivery of its fifth Boeing 737-400 aircraft. By August that year, Air Busan had marked 10,000 flights in the 299 days since it began operations. In September 2009, the number of passengers carried reached 1 million. International services, between Busan and

Fukuoka is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. ...

, began in March 2010 and in April the number of passengers carried reached 2 million. In January 2011 Air Busan took delivery of its first

Airbus A321-200 The Airbus A321 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short to medium range, Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body, commercial passenger Twinjet, twin engine jet airliners; it carries 185 to 236 passengers. It has a stretched fuselage which was ...

aircraft. In 2018, Air Busan applied for a preliminary screening for an initial public offering. In 2021, Korean Air's Post Merger Instruction plan for Asiana Airlines was approved by the Korea Development Bank. It includes provisions to merge Air Busan with Korean Air's low cost carrier subsidiary, Jin Air. Air Busan will exclusively use the expanded international terminal at Gimhae International Airport, which will be operational from 26 March 2024. As a result of merger with Korean Air, the airline, as well as parent company Air Seoul will be integrated with Jin Air, Korean Air's subsidiary.

Destinations

Air Busan started operations in October 2008, using

Gimhae International Airport Gimhae International Airport is located on the western end of Busan, South Korea. Opened in 1976, the airport is named after the nearby city of Gimhae. A new international terminal opened on October 31, 2007. Gimhae International Airport i ...

as a base. , Air Busan flies (or has flown) to the following destinations:

Codeshare agreements

Air Busan has

codeshares A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...

with the following airlines (as of May 2014): *

All Nippon Airways (ANA) is a Japanese airline headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. ANA operates services to both domestic and international destinations and is Japan's largest airline, ahead of its main rival flag carrier Japan Airlines. the airline has approximate ...

Asiana Airlines Asiana Airlines Inc. ( ) is a South Korean airline headquartered in Seoul.Home
." Asiana Airlines. Retrieved 13 September 2 ...

Fleet

Current fleet

, Air Busan operates an all-

Airbus A320 family The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first member of the fami ...

fleet composed of the following aircraft:

Retired fleet

Air Busan formerly also operated the following aircraft types:

Accidents and incidents

* On 28 January 2025, Air Busan Flight 391, an

registered as HL7763, caught fire before takeoff at

, South Korea, bound for

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, resulting in seven injuries and the evacuation of all 176 people on board, also being the airline's first hull loss.

References

External links

Air Busan official homepage

Air Busan official homepage

City of Busan – Air Busan
{{Navbox Airlines of South Korea Airlines of South Korea Airlines established in 2007 Asiana Airlines South Korean brands Companies based in Busan Low-cost carriers of South Korea South Korean companies established in 2007 Star Alliance affiliate members