Aero K Airlines teams up with Orange Square on WOWPASS, targeting foreign inbound travelers from Cheongju

[Financial News] As competition to attract foreign tourists through regional airports intensifies, Aero K Airlines is moving to secure demand from visitors to Korea by combining its routes with foreign payment infrastructure. Analysts say the airline has chosen a strategy that links payment and currency exchange convenience, now essential services for foreign travelers, directly to its flight network in an effort to ease concentration in the Seoul metropolitan area and strengthen the profitability of hub routes.
Aero K Airlines said on the 28th that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Orange Square, the operator of the foreigner-only payment and commerce platform WOWPASS.
The agreement was designed to improve payment and travel convenience for visitors entering through Cheongju International Airport, boost inbound demand at regional airports, and raise Aero K's global brand awareness.
Under the deal, the two companies will link Aero K's sales channels with Orange Square's mobile platform to carry out joint global marketing and targeted promotions.
They also plan to encourage passengers to use Aero K routes arriving at and departing from Cheongju International Airport, while developing a sustainable tourism cooperation model for foreign visitors based on customer data from both companies.
Orange Square's WOWPASS is a platform that combines a prepaid card, unmanned currency exchange, and a mobile wallet. It has more than 3.5 million app users and operates about 450 unmanned currency exchange kiosks nationwide, making it the No. 1 foreign payment platform in Korea.
Aero K currently operates domestic flights on the Cheongju–Jeju route and 23 routes to seven countries, including Japan, Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Mongolia, and the Philippines, based at Cheongju International Airport.
As competition among low-cost carriers (LCCs) over capacity expansion intensifies, the airline aims to draw real inbound demand directly to regional routes, securing both route diversification and passenger load factors.
An Aero K Airlines official said, "We will broaden the base of inbound tourism centered on Cheongju International Airport by combining the payment and mobility convenience sought by foreign visitors to Korea with our airline services." The official added, "We will use the infrastructure of both companies to create tangible results in attracting passengers."

[email protected] Kim Dong-ho Reporter