Recently, Air Premia experienced airframe defects in the aircraft it introduced. Air Premia is preparing for new routes to Hawaii, USA, and plans to increase flights from Incheon to San Francisco and Incheon to New York starting next month. The airline had planned to introduce three aircraft this year, but due to consecutive defects in the new aircraft, operations have been disrupted.
According to the aviation industry on the 8th, an Air Premia flight that was scheduled to depart Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport at 10:45 p.m. on the 5th for Incheon International Airport had to return due to an airframe defect and was then canceled. The aircraft in question is a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner model that Air Premia introduced on the 27th of last month. It began passenger service on the 1st with flights from Incheon to Tokyo, Japan.
This aircraft was deployed on its second commercial flight on the 5th to the Bangkok route, where an airframe anomaly was detected. Air Premia called back the aircraft without passengers after completing basic checks at Suvarnabhumi International Airport. The aircraft will be reintroduced to commercial operations after verifying its safety through a thorough investigation. It is reported that anomalies occurred in the control systems, including the engine.
With the discovery of this defect, as of the 6th, four out of the seven aircraft operated by Air Premia became aircraft on ground (AOG) status. Air Premia currently operates its entire fleet with Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, and all previously introduced aircraft numbered 3, 4, and 5 have also encountered problems, entering AOG status. Air Premia has experienced return incidents due to airframe defects on routes including New York to Incheon, Incheon to Narita, Japan, and Incheon to Oslo, Norway. However, aircraft number 7 was returned to commercial operation the day before (on the 7th) after maintenance was completed.
Air Premia is currently serving seven cities, including New York, Los Angeles (LA), San Francisco, Tokyo, Bangkok, Da Nang in Vietnam, and Hong Kong in China, and it plans to start operations to Honolulu International Airport in Hawaii, USA, four times a week starting in July. The airline is now operating eight routes with three aircraft, which has led to frequent changes or cancellations in flight schedules. Last month, Air Premia announced 36 flight schedule changes, and there were four cancellations. This month, by the 5th, 11 flights were canceled.
Air Premia operated the Incheon to San Francisco route with charter flights from Korean Air on the 31st of last month and the 4th, and it is responding to the shortage of its fleet by introducing additional standby engines. However, many point out that the underlying cause of the fleet shortage is the supply chain issues in the aviation industry, making it difficult to resolve the problems in a short period. The aircraft that encountered a return incident this time, aircraft number 7, was also scheduled for introduction in January, but its delivery was delayed due to supply chain instability.
Air Premia plans to swiftly introduce aircraft number 8 and number 9 to replenish its fleet. An Air Premia official noted, "We are following the relevant procedures for the stable introduction of aircraft numbers 8 and 9," adding, "The introduction is expected to be completed in the second half of the year."