South Korea’s budget carrier Jeju Air Co. posted a record-high operating profit in the second quarter thanks to low oil costs and its low ticket policy attracting more passengers during the long holidays in May and June.

The company’s stellar performance is a stark contrast to its rivals grappling with losses in the traditionally slow season for air travel coupled with Beijing’s group travel ban in protest to Seoul’s installation of an U.S. missile shield.

Jeju Air said on Thursday that its operating profit in the second quarter ended June this year reached 16.2 billion won ($14.4 million), a whopping 2,448 percent increase from a year ago. This is the company’s historic high operating profit and extends a profit streak for 12th consecutive quarter. Its revenue also surged 40.7 percent to 228 billion won over the same period.

Typically, the second quarter is off-season for the airline business. During the same period last year, Jeju Air reported 600 million won in operating profit. This year, its low-cost peers including Jin Air Co. and T’way Air Co. failed to avoid losses, despite the long holidays in May and June.

Compared with its rivals, Jeju Air succeeded in recruiting more passengers during the second quarter after it cut its ticket prices, more than offsetting Beijing’s retaliatory travel ban against Seoul’s THAAD installation, according to market analysts. Lower oil prices also helped improve the company’s performance.

During the first six months of this year, Jeju Air raked in 43.5 billion won in operating profit and more than 400 billion won in revenue, breaking the 400 billion won threshold for the first time since its inception.

The company that currently operates 29 airplanes plans to add three more aircrafts to its fleet by the end of this year and six or more planes every year until 2020 to increase the number of its passengers per year to 10 million.

Shares of Jeju Air Friday closed 2.99 percent up at 37,850 won from the previous session.

By Kim Jung-hwan

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