By Lee Hae-rin
Korea’s low-cost carriers (LCC) are expanding pet-friendly air travel services amid the growing popularity of pet tourism, with nearly 15 million, or almost a quarter of the entire population, being pet owners nationwide.
Starting next month, passengers on Eastar Jet, a Korean budget airline, will be able to board international flights with their pets. Each person may bring a dog, cat or bird, provided the animal weighs less than 9 kilograms and fits in a carry-on luggage bag.
The pet-friendly service has been limited to domestic travel so far, but will be available for routes from Incheon, Gimpo and Jeju to Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Shanghai, Taipei, Bangkok and Danang.
“The expansion (of pet-friendly service) to international air travel comes amid growing trends and demands for pet transportation. The company plans on developing additional pet-friendly services in the future,” an Eastar Jet official said.
T’way Air, another Korean LCC, also offers a pet-friendly travel service, dubbed “T’pet,” for some of its international travel routes.
The airline offers special boarding passes for animal passengers and provides a free one-way ticket for every six international travels or three domestic travels. Some 33,000 pets traveled courtesy of T’way last year, the company said.
Jeju Air and Air Seoul also allow passengers to bring their pets on flights.
Notably, Jeju Air regularly operates pet-friendly flights between Gimpo and Jeju, with seats designated for pets next to their owners and a veterinarian on board.
The LCC, which also offers lunch boxes and travel stamps for pets, saw a dramatic increase in the number of animal transports from 7,020 in 2019 to 17,698 last year.
Jin Air and Air Busan allow passengers to either fly with their pets in the cabin or send them as checked luggage, providing travel options for large animals who cannot accompany their owners on board.
Air Busan saw a steady increase in the number of pet transports. The figure stood between 6,000 and 8,000 before 2020, but soon jumped to 11,000 in 2021 and went further up to 11,747 in 2022.
According to KB Financial Group Research Institute’s report last year, over a quarter of households in Korea, or 5.52 million out of 21.58 million households, were raising pets and their monthly average rearing expense stands at around 154,000 won ($112).
Korea’s pet industry is an 8 trillion won market as of 2022, and will continue to enjoy double-digit growth annually for the coming years, according to government statistics.