Jeju Air Review: South Korea’s Low Cost Carrier

Not sure about if you want to fly Jeju Air or not? Here is my full and honest Jeju Air review.

Jeju Air is a low cost carrier (LCC) based out of South Korea flying mostly domestic, but some international destinations as well. Jeju Air currently flies a fleet of Boeing 737-800’s and Boeing 737 MAX 8 with a majority being the 737-800’s. 

One of the really unique aspects of Jeju Air is that they are part of Value Alliance, a LCC alliance program. The alliance is made up of 5 airlines that are Cebu Pacific, Cebgo, Jeju Air, Nok Air, and Scoot.

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As an American living in Japan currently I want to visit as much of the Asia region as possible. When looking at flights I came across a one way flight on Jeju Air flying from Tokyo to Busan for about 10,000 Yen. As of March 2024, the conversion rate is about $66 USD.

Jeju Air has three different categories when booking fly, flybag, and bizlight. With the standard fly this does not include a checked bag, flybag includes a checked back (weight depends on route) and bizlight includes a great checked allowance, a larger seat, priority boarding, and a complimentary meal. All tickets come with a 10kg carry on allowance.

While the standard fly was not available I decided to book the flybag even though I did not need the checked luggage. Seat selection incurs an additional cost. At the time of checkout, I decided to leave it up to fate since it was a shorter flight.

Jeju Air does offer an app, and they even offer discounts while booking through the app versus the standard website. I would describe the app as functional with a lot of hiccups. Firstly I will preface this by saying that this is a Korean based app with the default language seat to Korean. There is an option to change it to English, but random pages will not translate at times.

Secondly, a lot of times the application will just not load the next page when booking a flight. I had to try to book my flight 4 times to make it through all the screens before I was actually ticketed.

Jeju Air flies out of Terminal 3 at Narita International Airport in Japan. Terminal 3 is where most of the low cost carriers such as Jetstar fly out of. 

I was not able to check-in online for some reason, while the website says some Japan flights are eligible it does not go into detail. I decided to get to the airport a bit earlier as I was not sure how long the process would take. Jeju Air has a small section of service desks at the Narita International Airport. The majority of this terminal is all self-serve kiosks. 

I used the self-service to check in and it was a breeze and I had no issues. Upon checking in at the terminal I was able to select a seat for free and while it was a minimal selection I was still able to get a window seat towards the middle of the plane.

One thing I think most common travelers on low cost carriers always ask is how strict the airlines are on carry ons. I of course read the horror stories on Reddit and other blogs about how strict the rules are. 

Being that I had the option to check a bag for free I decided to risk it with my 55 Liter Black Hole bag by Patagonia. While it is not that much larger than the rules, it technically does not meet the carry on requirements. They didn’t weigh or measure my bag, and I didn’t see anyone else having their bags checked either. However, there’s always a risk if you try to bring a bag that doesn’t meet the airline’s requirements.

Terminal 3 at Narita International Airport is very small. There is a food court pre-security and for international departures there is only a small coffee shop after security. There is also a wide range of stores pre security including duty free and a drug store. Once based security there are a few vending machines and some small seating sections.

The boarding process was a little bit chaotic, as soon as the gate agent started talking everyone started lining up. I hopped in line myself as they didn’t seem to be going along with boarding groups. Priority boarding is an option that Jeju Air sells when purchasing a ticket. This is something I’d avoid as it didn’t seem to matter. 

The seat pitch for Jeju Air is 29 inches, which although close to standard to the normal 30-31 inches can feel a bit tight. While I had no problem in my seat (I am 5’ 10”) I did notice the gentleman who seemed a bit taller looked not as comfortable. None of the seats are currently equipped with power outlets or usb ports.

While there is no inflight beverage or meal included on the flight (unless you booked a ticket that includes this) they do have the option to purchase on the plane. In the setback pocket you will find the Air Cafe, which will show all the menu options. They do have different menus for domestic and international flights. I decided to get a Pepsi, which you can pay with different currencies. Currently, you have the options of choosing either the United States Dollar, the Japanese Yen, or the Korean Won. With the current conversion rates I decided to go with the Yen.

They also have a Air Shop magazine if you are looking to do some shopping on the plane. It takes me back to the day of flying in the United States with SkyMall. Essentially, you can order on the plane, fill out the shipping address, and Jeju Air will ship it to you.

Jeju Air does not offer any in-flight entertainment which is fine for me on a short haul flight. On longer flights I’d see this being a little bit more of a nuisance. Be sure to download anything you want to watch on the plane as they do not offer Wi-Fi currently either.

While I was not sure at first about flying Jeju Air based upon reviews I had read online I am glad I ended up booking the flight. Jeju Air might not offer a lot of amenities, but for the cost to me it was worth it. I could see it being a little bit more difficult on a long haul flight. Domestic or short international flights I would not hesitate to book again with Jeju Air.

Have you flown on Jeju Air? Let me know your thoughts and review of Jeju Air.