Air Premia is facing its first pilot strike crisis since its founding. As Air Premia has pursued management that maximizes efficiency, some employees have said working conditions are harsh.
Under a financial structure improvement order from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Air Premia must increase its capital by Sept., but it is coming under pressure from expense increases due to labor-management conflict.
According to the aviation industry on the 28th, the Air Premia pilots union is holding a strike-authorization vote through the 29th. This follows the breakdown of wage talks that have been held 10 times since Oct. 2024.
The pilots union says there has not been a single wage increase since 2020 and various allowance payments have been omitted, resulting in a real wage decline, and is demanding an 8.3% raise.
The union plans to apply for mediation to the National Labor Relations Commission as soon as the strike-authorization vote ends to secure the right to strike. Even if the right to strike is secured, the air transport business is designated as an essential public interest workplace, so a full-scale strike cannot be carried out.
In the aviation industry, the view is that problems erupted as Air Premia focused on expanding its scale while maximizing efficiency. Following Honolulu, Hawaii, which it launched last year, Air Premia began service to Washington, D.C., in April this year, operating nine destinations with nine aircraft.
As a result, flight schedules became tight, and since last year the Incheon–Da Nang and Dhaka routes have been operated as quick turns (returning immediately without staying at the destination), drawing criticism that pilots and cabin crew face harsh working conditions, including working up to 18 hours a day.
In addition, safety management issues were raised as the number of cabin crew assigned was fewer than the eight doors on the B-787 Dreamliner operated by Air Premia.
Due to a shortage of aircraft, flight schedule changes were frequent at Air Premia, and it received a very poor (F++) grade in the international flight operational reliability assessment for the first half of 2025 released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the lowest among domestic carriers.
In the end, additional aircraft and staffing are needed, but Air Premia also faces the task of lowering its capital impairment ratio to 50% or less by Sept. This is because the capital impairment ratio exceeded 50% in Sept. 2024, leading to a financial structure improvement order from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT).
Under Article 28 of the Aviation Business Act, if, after a financial structure improvement order from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), a capital impairment ratio of 50% or more continues for two years or longer and safety or consumer harm is feared, MOLIT may revoke the air transport business license of the carrier.
On a consolidation basis in 2024, Air Premia posted revenue of 491.6 billion won and operating profit of 40.7 billion won, up 31% and 120%, respectively, from a year earlier, but the capital impairment ratio was 81.4%, similar to the previous year's 82.1%.
An official with the Air Premia pilots union said, "Until now, we have endured the pain, taking into account the company's situation, but various problems are occurring, such as management unilaterally changing work rules, so we have moved to secure the right to strike."