Air Premia (YP, Seoul Incheon) has announced it has secured additional private equity funding as it prepares to file an application for a business licence with the Korean Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs (MLTMA).
In a statement, the longhaul start-up carrier said it had raised KRW25 billion won (USD22.18 million) in a Series A funding round from institutional investors Capstone Asset Management Co., Yuanta Investment Co., and Winvest Venture Capital.
Anchor investors including the Korean American Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles and Fast Investment, which had both participated in an earlier KRW10.5 billion won (USD9.4 million) funding round alongside DS Asset Management and Hong Sung-Bum (the founder of Korea-based biopharmaceuticals manufacturer, Hugel, Inc.), also contributed.
In total, Air Premia has so far raised KRW37 billion won (USD32.8 million) out of project CEO Kim Jong-Chul's overall target of KRW80-100 million. As such, the remaining KRW70 million will be raised via a Series B funding round set to take place during the next few months.
Revised MLTMA regulations require prospective airlines to have at last KRW30 billion (USD26.9 million) in initial funding coupled with access to at least five aircraft.
Air Premia plans to file for a business license this month and proceed with the necessary steps to start operations from early 2020. It is looking to operate longhaul flights using either A330-900 or B787-9 equipment.
