Passing through the jet bridge cabin where heat seeping in felt like it was scorching the skin, passengers stepped onto the A330-200 and were greeted with a welcome and hotel-like fresh air and a pleasant scent.
The seat had enough legroom to fit two fists between the knees and the seat in front, and it was wide enough to shift sitting positions. To minimize fatigue, the seatback reclined to about 130 degrees.
Right after takeoff, the airline's welcome drink, "Peach Onboard," was served, followed by pre-ordered in-flight meals developed by a chef, including braised conger eel rice bowl, chicken soup curry, and stir-fried pork. The pre-ordered in-flight meals cost around 20,000 won.
Passengers who could not pre-order meals were able to order signature ramen, perilla oil buckwheat noodles, and chicken dishes for around 10,000 won. Thanks to 11 flight attendants, more than the minimum staffing level, it took less than 30 minutes after takeoff to complete meal service and duty-free sales.
It evokes the service of a major airline, but this is from Parata Air, a new low-cost carrier (LCC). On the 13th in the afternoon, we boarded Comfort Plus seats on a flight departing Incheon International Airport for Hanoi, Vietnam.
Parata Air is an airline that WINIX acquired from Fly Gangwon and began commercial operations in the fourth quarter of last year. Branding itself as a "hybrid airline," the company offers seat configurations and services comparable to major carriers while setting fares close to low-cost carriers (LCCs) as its strategy.
Since starting commercial service, it has been expanding its network with four aircraft, focusing on Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, Sapporo) and Vietnam (Da Nang, Nha Trang, Hanoi). Among these, the Incheon-Hanoi route is the company's most recently launched route.
Air routes are generally classified into leisure routes with strong seasonal demand and business routes connecting major cities in countries with large trade volume. Compared with leisure routes, business routes do not see demand spike as sharply, but they have the advantage of generating revenue based on steady demand.
Parata Air, which had been expanding its network mainly with leisure routes, plans to accelerate securing business-route-based revenue by launching routes to Shenzhen, Chengdu, and Chongqing in China, starting with this Hanoi route.
Parata Air plans to actively target business demand on the Incheon-Hanoi route with differentiated service and lower fares compared with major airlines as its strengths. Near Hanoi are business sites of large corporations such as Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, and Hyundai Motor.
While bolstering operational stability, it will increase deployment of the A330-200 model (HL8741) equipped with Business Smart seats and, starting in Sep., operate the Incheon-Hanoi route exclusively with that aircraft.
Parata Air's Business Smart seats have more than 100 cm of pitch and are about 3 cm wider than Comfort Plus. They are operated in a flat-bed configuration with the seatback reclining to 180 degrees.
This month, aircraft alternating on the route feature Comfort Plus seats, which can be used by paying an additional 55,000 won one-way from Economy (Comfort), and aircraft with Business Plus and Comfort seats.
Parata Air plans to attract customers with service that rivals carriers on the same route, Korean Air Lines and Asiana Airlines, while offering lower fares.
In fact, this month's bookable Business Smart fares range from 530,000 won to 1.1 million won one-way. By contrast, Korean Air Lines' business fares range from 900,000 won to 1.1 million won one-way, showing a higher lower bound. Economy also maintains a lower rock-bottom price.
Parata Air, which is posting a large deficit, plans to secure stable revenue by attracting business demand to improve its operating results and prepare for its long-term goal of launching North American routes. It also aims to convert the captured business demand into transfer demand.
Parata Air, which began commercial operations in the fourth quarter of last year, recorded 34.4 billion won in sales in the first quarter of this year, but remained in the red with a net loss of 32.6 billion won. Last year's sales were 15.2 billion won, operating loss was 59.3 billion won, and net loss was 71.1 billion won.