New carrier Sun PhuQuoc Airways kicks off inaugural Seoul-Phu Quoc flight with strong bookings

Crew members of Sun PhuQuoc Airways welcome passengers during the airline's first-ever flight from Incheon International Airport on April 17. [SEO JI-EUN]

 
PHU QUOC, Vietnam — The check-in queue stretched so far down in front of counter K at Incheon International Airport's Terminal 1 that airport security officers paused to ask: "Which airline is this?" 
 
It was a fair question. 
 
While rivals canceled or trimmed Vietnam routes amid soaring fuel costs from the Middle East-driven crisis, a brand-new full-service carrier, Sun PhuQuoc Airways, was boarding 231 passengers — 99 percent of its 236 seats — for its inaugural Seoul-Phu Quoc flight on Friday. 
 
Strollers, matching family linen sets and grandparents filled the queue, showing proof that Phu Quoc is rapidly following Da Nang onto Korean family itineraries.
 
Lee Hong-in organized a party of nine: his wife, three children, their spouses and his younger sister Sophia. 
 
They had originally booked a different carrier, but switched to Sun PhuQuoc Airways specifically because it was new. A fresh name, Lee reasoned, means more to prove.
  
For Sophia, a middle-aged traveler on her second trip to Vietnam after visiting Da Lat and Nha Trang, the draw was partly practical. 
 
"Vietnam is well-known for its food and resorts because it's comfortable for people our age to travel here," she told the Korea JoongAng Daily. "We were afraid the whole trip would be canceled because of the fuel surcharges, so I'm just glad we could make it."
 
Trusting a carrier she had never heard of a few months ago was something different.
 
"I was nervous at first," she said. "But since it's their very first flight, they'd be extra meticulous was what I thought."
 

A long queue of passengers forms in front of the Sun PhuQuoc Airways check-in counters at Terminal 1 of Incheon International Airport on April 17. [SEO JI-EUN]

Sun PhuQuoc Airways and Korean Air Lines are now the only full-service carriers on the Incheon — Phu Quoc route. 
 
Korean Air departs at 7:05 p.m. and returns at 12:10 a.m. Sun PhuQuoc Airways departs at 12:35 p.m. and turns around at 2:25 a.m. — stretching a three-night trip into what travel agents market as a genuine five-day experience.
 

Officials from Sun PhuQuoc Airways and Incheon International Airport Corpation participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 17 to celebrate the launch of the carrier's inaugural service between Seoul and Phu Quoc. [SEO JI-EUN]

Sun PhuQuoc Airways is invested by Sun Group, a Vietnamese conglomerate that owns luxury hotels, theme parks and golf courses.  
 
A QR code on the back of every plane ticket unlocks a complimentary car ticket to the Sun World Hon Thom Cable Car — the world's longest. Passengers also receive up to 30 percent off the group's leisure services. 
 
"Our fuel surcharge hike is about 30 to 40 percent of the increases other carriers are imposing," said Lim Chang-hyun, head of passenger sales and marketing for the airline in Korea. "Headquarters' priority this quarter is brand awareness. In the end, every passenger on this flight is a potential Sun Group customer."
 
April reservations are at 90 percent, and May is tracking above 80, according to Lim.
 
The cabin is gray and beige, with a red blanket on every headrest. No seatback screens. 
 
Bulgogi or chicken arrived ninety minutes after takeoff. Vietnamese beer was absent from the cart — a minor oversight on a vacationbound flight. 
 
Nearly every passenger was Korean, nearly all in family groups. 
 
A cabin announcement had already set the tone: Phu Quoc, it declared, is "one of the most beautiful islands in the world." 
 

Officials from Sun Group distribute welcome gifts to children arriving on the inaugural flight of Sun PhuQuoc Airways at Phu Quoc International Airport on April 17. [SUN GROUP]

Upon landing at Phu Quoc International Airport — ringed by cranes and construction sites, an airport still becoming itself — officials, including Sun Group's chief executive, as well as a pair of its mascot, greeted the arrivals with welcome gifts. 
 
Business class launches on May 15. An evening departure from Seoul is planned for June. while a Busan route is set to open in August. Wide-body Boeing aircraft arrive in 2029. 
 
For a carrier that was unknown in this market six months ago, the headwind — on day one, at least — looked entirely manageable.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]