Background
How do you become a millionaire? Start as a billionaire and then establish an airline.
Throughout the world, the aviation industry is most certainly not known for its stability, low-cost investments, or the ease with which a company can simply come along and start operations. This is perhaps no more true than in Korea, where a web of complex rules and regulations, a highly saturated aviation industry and a fantastic domestic high-speed rail network are enough to put off all but the most maverick entrepreneurs. Yet, despite the clear hurdles to success, in recent years, a veritable banchan of regional carriers have attempted to break into this, such as Air Philip, Air Pohang, Fly Gangwon and Hi Air, although sadly, none lasted much more than a year, with some lasting a matter of months. Thus, whenever a newcomer announces plans to launch a new Korean regional carrier, I watch with a mix of surprise and delight – rooting for their success while maintaining the seasoned scepticism of someone who has seen the rise and fall of such companies a few too many times!
In November 2022, the latest newcomer to the regional Korean airline scene was established, and this time, it came with a slightly different operating strategy from its ill-fated predecessors. Named Sum Air, with ‘sum’ being a questionable romanisation of the Korean word ‘sŏm’, meaning island, the airline aims to connect Seoul Gimpo with the islands of Baeknyeong, Heuksan and Ulleung. At first glance, this strategy seems far more sound than those previous regional start-ups who opted to focus on domestic routes already served by both Korean giants and the high-speed rail network, such as Air Pohang’s route from Seoul to Pohang, and Air Philip’s Seoul to Gwangju flight. Nevertheless, there is one major hurdle to this plan: none of these islands currently has an operational airport, with these being under construction, the first of which is set to open in 2028.
Thus, rather than wait until these airports open, in the short term, Sum Air has instead opted to focus on offering high-frequency services between Seoul Gimpo and Jinju Sacheon Airport, located near the coastline of Southern Korea, around 230 miles from Seoul. Thereby gaining operational experience, and allowing it to build a presence within the Korean airline scene before turning to what will hopefully be the bread and butter of its operations. This particular route was previously served by ATR 72-500 operating start-up Hi Air, and today, Sum Air competes with Korean Air’s low-cost subsidiary Jin Air on this service, whilst regular KTX high-speed trains connect nearby Jinju with Seoul, taking around three hours to make this journey. Reviving scheduled turboprop operations in Korea, Sum Air initially leased a brand-new ATR 72-600 for this service, before expanding further by placing a firm order for four new such aircraft in April 2026, with options for an additional four such aircraft. This aircraft touched down in Korea to much celebration in January 2026, and was soon pressed into service on route proving and training flights, before the airline operated its first scheduled passenger service in March 2026.
Being Korea’s youngest airline and given the rarity of turboprop operations in Korea, I knew that I had to sample the delights of Sum Air. Thus, I soon began to examine ways in which I could work a ride onboard the airline’s brand new ATR 72-600 into my holiday itinerary, and operating just a single route, I would not have much choice as to where I would fly. Fortunately, I already planned to spend two nights in the South Gyeongsang coastal town of Jinhae, located in the same province and about fifty kilometres to the east of Sacheon Airport. Planning to head to Seoul after Jinhae, flying on Sum Air service from Sacheon to Seoul would not involve too much of a detour, and so, I soon began plans to work a ride on Sum Air into my itinerary.
Korean start-up carriers are not particularly well known for being foreigner-friendly when it comes to user interface and booking and paying for tickets. Indeed, I had discovered this a couple of days earlier when booking with Parata Air and, lacking a Korean bank card, I was unable to purchase my tickets via the airline’s website. Nevertheless, hoping that Sum Air would be the rare exception, I made my way over to the airline’s sleek and modern website. This was available in English and Korean, and featured everything that you would want to know about the airline and its operations. Undertaking a quick search for flights for the airline’s sole route, I was soon presented with a whopping total of four flights from Jinju to Seoul Gimpo, with these departing at 0905, 1230, 1605 and 1935. Each of these came with three fare options – Promotion, Discounted and Normal, priced at 35,600 won, 57,600 won, and 83,600 won, respectively. Selecting the cheapest fare, I was then asked if I wanted to purchase additional luggage. Rejecting this, I steamed onwards and was then taken to the seat selection page, all seats 2,000 won – wanting to secure a window seat, I selected this, bringing my total to 37,600 won
Unfortunately, as often seems to be the case with Korean start-up carriers, booking a ticket with a foreign card was impossible. Seeing as this could not be booked via external booking platforms, determined to fly with Sum Air, I sent an email to the carrier, and after several days, I received the delightful news that this would be reserved for me and I would be able to pay for it at the airport. The only negative of this being that I would not be able to check-in and select my seat in advance.
The Journey
Following a pleasant weekend spent revisiting my old Jinhae haunts, the time came for me to continue on my journey and head north for a week in Seoul. Lacking a car and not wanting to spend a small fortune on a ninety-minute or so westward drive to Sacheon Airport, I had spent Sunday evening carefully planning my journey to the airport. Making my journey relatively easy, I discovered an intercity bus service that runs between the nearby city of Masan and Sacheon, the penultimate stop of which was Jinju Sacheon Airport. Taking around an hour to make this journey, the only drawback of this service was that it departed at intervals of every two hours, meaning that I would have to leave Masan at 0840 and spend a fair amount of time lingering around the airport terminal until it was time to depart for Seoul. Nevertheless, with a ticket for this bus costing 5,800 won, this wait was a price that I was willing to pay!
Waking up bright and early to the sight of the sun rising above the picturesque tree-lined mountains that surround Jinhae on three sides, when morning came, having packed the night before, I had relatively little to do other than dart through the shower and put on a fresh set of clothes for my journey to Seoul. With Jinhae being well-linked by bus to the neighbouring cities of Changwon and Masan, had I really wanted to be frugal about things, I could have caught a city bus over to the latter. However, travelling with a heavy suitcase and not wanting to end up sweatier than necessary at the start of the day, I decided to enlist the help of a taxi. Ordering this via Uber, being a bit uncertain as to how long it would take for a driver to accept the ride, I requested this at 0740, anticipating that the journey to Masan would take around thirty minutes. Fortunately, this was accepted almost right away and thus, by the time I made it to the ground floor of the rather kitch hotel that I had called home for two nights, this was already waiting around the back. Whizzing off down the quiet morning streets of Jinhae, the driver made some conversation with me in Korean about my trip, being somewhat surprised that I would be flying back to Seoul from Sacheon before blasting trot music and full volume as we left Jinhae in the rearview mirror. As seems to be the case with many Korean taxis, the driver appeared to be in a rush and despite stopping at what seemed to be every single red light in South Gyeongsang, no more than twenty minutes after leaving Jinhae, we reached Masan Intercity Bus Terminal, thus leaving me with plenty of time before my bus to Sacheon would depart.
With twelve years having passed since my last trip through Masan Intercity Bus Terminal, this appeared to have been spruced up and was much more modern than I had remembered it to be. Upon entering this, I was greeted by a line of ticket machines, which enabled me to purchase my ticket to Sacheon Airport quickly and easily, leaving me with no complaints and coming to the expected total of 5,800 won for a one-way ticket. This also enabled me to pick my seat from the near-empty seat map, which, considering that there were about thirty minutes until departure, indicated that I would be in for a quiet ride. With my paper ticket in hand, I purchased my first (and much-needed) coffee of the day from 7 Eleven, and given the sunshine and pleasant temperatures, I plonked myself down on a seat outside and waited for the bus to pull in, with this having started its journey in nearby Changwon. Right on time, the near-empty Kia pulled into the stand on its journey from Changwon to Sacheon, and after sliding my suitcase into the underfloor luggage compartment, I hopped onboard and took my seat at the front of this. As with many Korean intercity buses, this was comfortable, clean and modern, and I would have been happy to travel on the bus over a longer distance than the hop to the airport. At 0840 on the dot, the bus rapidly reversed away from its stand and made a speedy exit from the bus terminal before hitting the streets of central Masan and soon joining the motorway.
Korean motorway journeys are not always quick affairs, and in recent times I have had my fair share of hours spent crawling along in traffic. Thankfully, no jams were to be had that morning, and after a little over forty minutes after leaving Masan, the bus left the motorway, at which point promotional signs for the city of Sacheon began to appear, indicating that we were nearing the end of our journey. Before I knew it, a trio of Cessna A-37B Dragonfly aircraft that until 2007 had been part of the Republic of Korea Air Force’s Black Eagles aerobatics team popped into view. These serve as a gate guard, with this venerable type having been retired from service and replaced by the Sacheon-manufactured KAI T-50 Golden Eagle. Moments after these aircraft appeared, the bus came to a halt at a stop on the main road, where, unsurprisingly, I was the only passenger to disembark, and so, after thanking the driver and collecting my luggage from the underfloor baggage compartment, I made the minute-long walk over to the terminal building.
As is the case with many regional airports in Korea, Jinju Sacheon Airport primarily serves as a military installation, and a rather busy one at that, with civilian operations being arguably secondary to the airfield’s national defence role. Specifically, this hosts several ROKAF training squadrons operating the KAI KT-1 Woongbi, plus a test and evaluation squadron and a squadron of unmanned RQ-4 Global Hawk aircraft. Alongside this, the airfield also hosts Korea Aerospace Industry’s main factory, producing the Korea Aerospace Industries, producing an array of aircraft.
The civilian portion of the airfield consists of a small single-story terminal with a two-stand apron, which is isolated and fenced off from the rest of the airfield. At the time of my flight in April 2026, this served just a small number of flights, with destinations being limited to Jeju and Seoul Gimpo. Specifically, Jeju is served by Korean Air, which typically deploys the Airbus A220 and Boeing 737-900 on this route, whilst competing with Sum Air, Korean Air’s low-cost subsidiary Jin Air operates the Boeing 737-800 and Boeing 737-900 to Seoul Gimpo. That Monday, there would be just five departures from Jinju Sacheon Airport – four Sum Air ATR 72 operated flights to Seoul Gimpo, and a single Korean Air Boeing 737-900 flight to Jeju.
With little to see outside the modest terminal, I steamed in and was almost immediately greeted in English by one of the small army of friendly elderly volunteers who appeared to staff the information and tourism desks, and linger around the terminal, serving the airport, and indeed Sacheon, with pride. After returning the warm greeting and answering questions about where I was headed, I took a seat in the almost empty terminal. At that time, the only other passenger seen took the form of a young camouflage-wearing soldier in the midst of their military service who was also bound for Seoul.
Sacheon Airport’s terminal dates back to 1986; however, as you would expect, this appeared to have been refreshed on at least one occasion and was fairly modern in its aesthetic, featuring all the expected modcons such as charging stations, complimentary wifi and plenty of high definition televisions that broadcast various news channels. Meanwhile, facilities were a little limited, but totally ample considering the airport’s small size. These included an information counter, a small gallery featuring scenic photographs of the local area, several tables with local produce and souvenirs that could be purchased, a children’s lounge, some toilets, and an unmanned branch of the Korean convenience chain, CU. However, despite all of these, and with the absence of any airside views, it is fair to say that the terminal was not particularly exciting and was designed for passengers to rock up a short time before departure and speedily pass through this, rather than for any long multi-hour waits. Yet, in spite of this, the terminal was spotlessly clean, comfortable enough, and ultimately lived up to my expectations.
In one corner of the square-shaped hall, nine check-in desks could be found, with these split evenly between the terminal’s three carriers, and well-decked out in each of the three airlines’ branding. However, unlike many Korean airports, no self-check-in machines could be found. Unsurprisingly, at that time, no Sum Air staff members could be seen; however, after a while, I spotted two smartly dressed plain-clothed Sum Air workers, identifiable by their lanyards, emerge from the airline’s ticket office. Explaining my predicament and the fact that I needed to pay for my ticket, these workers seemed to be expecting me and advised that I could pay for this when check-in opened at 1100. Thus, with nothing else to do, I took a seat and did some work, with the terminal becoming very slightly busier as the departure time for Sum Air’s service to Seoul Gimpo slowly approached.
At 1100 on the dot, the three Sum Air check-in desks opened, each manned by one agent whilst another stood near the entrance to these desks, greeting passengers and guiding them to one of the next vacant counters. As great as this service was, and as friendly as all the staff members were, I have to say that this seemed to be slight overkill for a single ATR 72 departure! Being one of the first passengers to reach the desks, once there, the team sprang into action, and after providing my reference number and handing over my passport, one staff member furiously typed away. Thankfully, when it came to costs, there were no surprises, with the ticket coming to the expected promotional fare of 37,600 won rather than the much more expensive full fare that you would expect to pay if purchasing this at the airport. I was, however, required to pay 21,000 won in excess luggage fees as my suitcase was 7 kilograms heavier than the 15-kilogram hold luggage limit. The other slight hiccup was that the airline was unable to accept foreign cards, and thus I had no option other than to pay for my ticket and excess luggage fee in cash, thankfully, a cash machine was on hand in the terminal, which accepted my British cards without issue. Once I had paid, the check-in process commenced and after requesting a window seat on the right-hand side of the aircraft, I was assigned Seat 5D before my purple receipt-style boarding pass was printed off, along with my baggage sticker, which was stuck onto a nicely designed paper card. Focusing on the latter, it seemed that Sum Air has invested a significant amount in their brand image, with their materials and documents being designed in a nice and stylish manner.
After about five minutes, check-in was complete, after which I took a seat in the main waiting area. As I have found to be the norm at Korean regional airports, the security checkpoint did not open until a comparatively short time before departure, in order to keep passengers waiting in the larger and less spartan landside area. As expected, the number of passengers milling around continued to increase; however, I would not say that this exceeded the number of passengers required to fill an ATR 72.
With forty minutes to go until the flight’s scheduled departure time, an announcement was made in Korean inviting those bound for Seoul to head to security. Seeing as I had been seated near the entrance to this, I soon stood up and ended up being the third passenger to make my way through the checkpoint. As with almost all airports in the world, first up was a scan of my boarding pass and a check of my identity documents. Getting things off to a good start, I found the security worker at this first step to be friendly and welcoming, something which I was pleased to find to be the case at the security check itself. With the checkpoint consisting of just one baggage scanner and a metal detecting arch, had I been flying on board a full Boeing 737-900 to Jeju, I imagine things may have been much slower; however, that morning, I sped through this and was able to enjoy a pleasantly quick and easy security experience.
No more than a couple of minutes after entering the security area, I was given the green light to make the short walk to the main airside waiting area. As you would expect, given the lack of scheduled civilian traffic at Sacheon Airport, I found the departures area to be rather compact, with this not being designed as a place where passengers wait for any great length of time. Specifically, this featured toilets, a charging station and a water dispenser. The unexpected crowning jewel of this was a small outdoor area, which offered a pleasant space for passengers to sit and wait in the open air.
Looking around, whilst clean and functional, the airside portion of the terminal came with a rather dated aesthetic. Specifically, this appeared to have come straight out of the Korea Airports Corporation textbook of regional airport design, and still featured the red linoleum floors that could once be seen in the pre-refurbished domestic terminals of Busan Gimhae, Jeju and Seoul Gimpo, and continue to be seen at several smaller regional airports.
In terms of its layout, the airside area consists of a small square-shaped hall with a single gate, where, somewhat counterintuitively, rather than sharing a single podium, each of the three airlines has its own! For planespotters, this is not the most exciting place to wait, as airside views can only be had through the glass door which leads to the ramp. Furthermore, as with many Korean dual-purpose airports, multiple signs could be seen noting that photography of the airport was prohibited, and, not wanting to end up sampling the local custody facilities, I decided not to wander up to this door and snap any photos!
As I waited, passengers slowly filtered through to the waiting area, whilst it wasn’t long before several air force security personnel and ramp staff made their way outside onto the apron, indicating that the aircraft was soon to arrive. Tracking the inbound ATR 72 as it trundled down from Seoul, this had departed the capital on time, but a rather indirect approach meant that this did not touch down in South Gyeongsang until 1210, five minutes behind schedule. With the aircraft scheduled to spend just 25 minutes on the ground in Sacheon, Sum Air’s tight schedule does not allow for much in the way of delays! Thus, unsurprisingly, our scheduled boarding time of 1210 came and went with no sign that boarding would commence; however, keeping passengers updated, at this time, one of the two Sum Air agents staffing the gate podium made an announcement in Korean apologising for the delay to boarding. Meanwhile, an additional announcement was made at 1213 when the sound of the ATR’s two turboprop engines temporarily filled the waiting area as this came to a stop on the apron outside, with this advising passengers that the inbound aircraft had arrived and boarding would commence shortly.
With just one active ATR 72 in Korea, it was not difficult to predict which aircraft would operate the lunchtime service to Sacheon. Specifically, this took the form of ATR 72-600, HL5264. Carrying the serial number 1745, this aircraft was assembled in Toulouse Blagnac and took to the skies for the first time with the test registration F-WWEX in December 2025, making it just under four months old at the time of my flight. Following four test flights around Southern France, on New Year’s Day 2026, the aircraft commenced its long trek to Korea. This took it from Toulouse to Seoul Gimpo, with stops in Cairo, Muscat, Nagpur and Danang, arriving in the Korean capital to much celebration. Soon, the aircraft commenced route-proving and training flights, before operating Sum Air’s first scheduled service on 12th March, a month and a day before my flight.
Despite the delay, the mood at the gate remained positive, with passengers lingering around in a calm and orderly manner whilst the ground staff turned the aircraft around and readied it for its return to Seoul. At 1230, the door to the ramp opened, at which point an announcement was made inviting all passengers to board the aircraft, with boarding not being undertaken in any particular order. On a side note, perhaps having noted that I spoke Korean, and being the only foreign passenger onboard the flight, all announcements in the airport that lunchtime were performed in the local lingo only.
Following a short queue, my boarding pass was scanned, at which point I headed outside into the pleasant and unseasonably warm early April sunshine and got my first glimpse of the gleaming aircraft waiting on the ramp. From the terminal, nothing more than a twenty-second walk was in order to reach the aircraft’s sole passenger door, with this located at the rear of the cabin. Climbing up the five steps built into the inner side of the ATR’s cabin door, I passed Sum Air’s slogan, Your Journey, Our Destination, which was proudly painted to the right of this, before ducking my head slightly so as to avoid any concussion as I entered the ATR 72’s minuscule rear galley. As soon as I entered the aircraft, I received a warm and friendly welcome in Korean from one of the flight’s two cabin crew, both of whom were donned in Sum Air’s modern, smart and distinctive royal blue uniform, which was paired with a pair of fashionable yet practical bright white trainers.
After a glance at my boarding pass, I turned left and entered the aircraft’s 72-seat cabin. Onboard, each seat took the form of modern and thin TYPE lightweight seats; a popular choice amongst newer ATR 42 and ATR 72 operators. Each of these was covered in a grey pleather cover and featured a slightly raised, padded headrest that blended into the seat. These came with a literature compartment that contained a nicely designed safety card, as well as a seatback pocket containing a sick bag and some in-flight literature. Interestingly, rather than an in-flight magazine, the latter takes the form of a full book entitled We Saw the Future on the Island. This non-fiction book details the experience of a group of young Japanese professionals who move from Tokyo to a small, remote island to live off the land.
After I had squeezed my backpack into the ATR 72’s smaller-than-usual overhead lockers, I slid into my seat and settled in for the journey ahead. Once seated, I was very pleased with my surroundings. For a turboprop aircraft, the seat seemed to be spacious and comfortable, whilst this was in tip-top condition, being both spotlessly clean and devoid of any signs of wear and tear, thereby leaving me with absolutely nothing but positive things to say about this. However, this was of course expected considering that the aircraft was one of the latest deliveries to any Korean carrier at the time of my flight!
Once seated, passengers continued to stream onto the aircraft, and as they did so, a pre-recorded announcement rang out in Korean and English that advised passengers to take their assigned seats and, as is now a permanent feature onboard all Korean carriers following the high-profile power bank fire onboard an Air Busan Airbus A321 in 2024, passengers were reminded that power banks could not be used onboard the aircraft.
Just eight minutes after boarding had been announced in the terminal, the final passenger made it onto the aircraft. At the very last minute, I was joined by a neighbour who was part of a smartly dressed party of business people who appeared to have been escorted straight to the aircraft. This thereby indicated that they were Korea Aerospace Industries, Korea Airports Corporation, or Sum Air officials. That lunchtime, I would estimate that the flight was around two-thirds full, which, given the high-speed rail connections between Jinju and Seoul, was a better load than I expected. Looking around, most passengers appeared to be travelling solo, and judging by their smart suits, were travelling for business. Once all passengers had taken their seats, the cabin crew passed through the cabin, undertaking not one, but two passenger counts. This was followed by an announcement in Korean and English during which passengers were instructed to close their window shades until we had taken off, with this owing to the fact that the airport is an active military installation. Whilst some may argue that this flaunts safety protocol, having received the same instruction after landing in Busan a week earlier, this now seems to be the norm at those Korean airports that are shared with the military. At this point, I noticed that the window shades were made of fabric rather than the traditional plastic, something that I had never encountered onboard an ATR 72!
Despite being seated near the front of the aircraft, soon, I heard the cabin door being closed with a large thud some distance behind, and a short time later, a few shakes and vibrations could be felt as the Pratt and Whitney Canada engines powered into life, before the five-blade Hamilton Sundstrand propellers began to whirl in preparation for our flight across Korea. As this was underway, the cabin crew took to the aisle in order to perform the all-important safety demonstration, with this accompanied by a pre-recorded safety announcement in Korean and English. Whilst the safety demonstration was underway, twelve minutes behind schedule at 1242, the ATR 72-600 jolted forwards and performed a U-turn out of its stand. Meanwhile, inside the cabin, as soon as they had completed the safety demonstration, the cabin crew passed through the cabin to ensure that everything was secure and in place in preparation for our departure, also ensuring that every single window blind, including those in empty rows, had been lowered.
After a few minutes, the cabin crew were asked to take their seats and at 1246, the two engines powered into life, filling the cabin with noise and vibration as we rocketed down Runway 24R. Performing a rather sporty takeoff, the aircraft soon rocketed upwards into the sunny skies, at which point I opened my window blind and was treated to the sight of a pair of Republic of Korea Air Force Chinooks with their rotors turning before we whizzed over the well-guarded perimeter fence and left the airfield behind. Thanks to the clear skies that lunchtime, as we climbed, I was treated to superb views of the hilly landscape below, which took the form of fields, forests, villages and the occasional cluster of industrial buildings as we made a smooth climb up to our low cruising altitude of 16,000 feet.
Taking off into the southwest, after passing the Gasan Bridge, which spans the Miho River, the aircraft banked to the right and flew back towards the airfield. This gave me a good view of the waters of Sacheon Bay, followed by the airfield, before we left this behind for good and made our way towards Jinju and the mountains of South Gyeongsang. Given the good visibility and my seat on the right-hand side of the aircraft, as we climbed, I also managed to spot Jinhae Bay in the distance, where I had started my journey several hours earlier.
After passing the city of Jinju, the ATR levelled off, at which point the seatbelt signs were extinguished. This was then followed by a pre-recorded announcement in Korean and English, which featured the usual warning message about keeping seatbelts fastened whilst seated, and a reminder of the prohibition of the usage of power banks whilst onboard the aircraft. Whilst some Sum Air trip reports detail a complimentary beverage service and the distribution of ear buds for those who are not fans of comparitively noisy turboprop engines, that day, neither of these was offered. Nevertheless, despite this, the crew regularly patrolled the aisle in case passengers needed anything. Requesting a tissue, a friendly flight attendant soon returned with a bundle of very nicely designed Sum Air tissues.
As we headed towards the province of North Gyeongsang, the clouds opened up just in time for passengers to be treated to clear views of one of Korea’s largest cities, Daegu. At this point, the aircraft could be felt experiencing some gentle bumps, and, taking no chances, the pilots reilluminated the seatbelt signs. Seeing as most remained in their seats for the duration of the flight, the cabin crew faced no issues in enforcing this as they wandered through the cabin ensuring that all were seated and secure. As we passed Daegu, the calm tones of the Captain filled the cabin as they performed a detailed announcement in Korean and English. During this, they introduced both themselves and the First Officer, detailed our route to Seoul Gimpo and expected flight time, ending this with a mention of the weather in Seoul and a word of thanks for flying with Sum Air.
Ten minutes after being reilluminated, things had calmed down, and the seatbelt signs were extinguished once again. As we passed the small North Gyeongsang city of Gumi, famous for being the hometown of authoritarian ruler Park Chunghee and his daughter, the disgraced former President Park Geunhye, the aircraft could be felt commencing its long and slow descent towards Seoul. However, still with plenty of distance to run until we reached the capital city, this was a rather gentle step-descent, initially settling at 12,000 feet before continuing on our journey back towards terra firma.
Our low cruising altitude and slow descent, coupled with the clean window, meant that superb views were offered of the Korean mountains as we headed northwards towards Seoul, passing from the provinces of North Gyeongsang to South Chungcheong, followed by North Chungcheong. Sitting on the right-hand side of the aircraft, relatively little could be seen by means of large settlements, with the views below primarily consisting of small cities, towns and mountains as we very roughly followed the course of Korea’s high-speed rail line between Busan and Seoul.
After passing the city of Daejeon, the cabin crew performed an announcement in Korean and English regarding our impending arrival before taking to the aisles, first collecting rubbish before passing through the cabin and ensuring that all was safe and secure in preparation for our arrival into Seoul Gimpo. Looking outside, the aircraft soon reached the province of Gyeonggi, which loops around Seoul, where we passed the large towns of Icheon and Yongin – the latter being famous for hosting one of Korea’s largest theme parks, Everland. A short time later, the endless rows of apartment blocks and the odd skyscraper appeared as the eastern fringes of Seoul appeared, soon followed by Seongnam Air Base. Whilst this hosts a number of squadrons, including the presidential flight, sadly, some slight haze and with this still being a fair distance to the north of our route, sadly, I failed to spot any aircraft as we trundled past this on our way towards Gimpo.
That day, we would land on Seoul Gimpo’s Runway 32L, and on good weather days, the approach to this runway offers great views of much of Seoul for those sitting on the right side of the aircraft. As we sank lower and lower, the ATR 72 whizzed past the summit of Mount Gwanak, a popular hiking spot to the south of the Han River and one of my favourite climbs in the capital, before the pleasant greenery was replaced by rows and rows of apartment blocks. Meanwhile, to the north, the Han River and skyscrapers of Yeoui Island could be seen, with these sitting beside the country’s National Assembly building, as we sank lower and lower.
Bouncing around a little as we descended over the neighbourhoods of Guro and Yeongdeungpo, the flaps and landing gear were lowered with a clunk, and soon, the apartment blocks below were replaced by older low-rise buildings, serving as an indication that we were almost there. Before I knew it, the sight of Korean Air’s massive maintenance hangars at the far eastern end of the airfield appeared, outside of which Korean Air’s corporate jet fleet, including its brand new luxury Gulfstream G800, Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner and Global Express, could be seen as we floated down past the large Gimpo markings next to the runway.
At 1337, a grand total of 51 minutes after taking to the skies of Sacheon, the ATR 72 made a gentle touchdown on Runway 32L before gently decelerating and vacating the runway to the right as a Jeju-bound Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 rocketed off from the parallel runway. Crossing the neighbouring runway without holding, we soon made our way over to a remote stand opposite the international terminal, whilst inside the cabin, an announcement was made welcoming all to Seoul, thanking passengers for flying with Sum Air and advising all to keep their seatbelts fastened for the time being. Following a very short taxi, the ATR 72-600 came to a halt at Stand 228, where it parked up right next to an ATR 72-500 that had once operated for Hi Air. Whilst this aircraft had not been operated since 2023, it appeared to be in surprisingly good condition, although I am sure that this is unlikely to go anywhere in a hurry.
With an army of ground crew and a bus already waiting to meet the inbound aircraft, once the engines had spooled down, disembarkation began in almost no time whatsoever, and, following a short wait, the cabin door was opened, and passengers filtered off the aircraft. Taking my time, eventually, I stood up and made my way through the almost empty cabin, thanking the crew members before heading down the steps and onto the waiting bus.
After a minute or so of waiting for the final passengers to make their way out of the aircraft, we commenced our short journey to the domestic terminal, coming to a halt for two Airbus A330s – a rare (for Korea) NATO Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport shuttling dignitaries from Brussels, and a more common Asiana Airlines Airbus A330-300 that had arrived from Jeju. Following this pause, before I knew it, we reached the domestic terminal where I disembarked and soon reached the baggage collection hall, where I had a short wait for my suitcase. Fortunately, after about five minutes, this appeared, and I was able to continue on my journey, ending my first Sum Air experience.
Summary
Ignoring the fact that the airline is not foreigner-friendly when it comes to booking, I had a very enjoyable Sum Air experience. The aircraft was clean, modern and comfortable, all staff that I interacted with were polite and friendly, and my journey was as painless as it could be. Not to mention the very cheap ticket which rivalled intercity bus prices between Seoul and Sacheon. Thus, it is fair to say that I would be more than happy to fly with Sum Air again!