Jeju Air to buy 40 fuel-efficient Boeing passenger planes

South Korea's largest low-cost carrier Jeju Air Co. will buy 40 next-generation passenger planes and lease 10 other new aircraft from Boeing Co. with enhanced fuel efficiency and stability.

The airline said on Tuesday it will introduce a combined 50 next-generation passenger planes -- the B737-8 and B727-8 models -- from next month through purchase and lease contracts.

The two models consume 18% less fuel and save 10% in maintenance costs than the B737-800NG in operation.

Jeju Air said the new models boast improvements including higher profitability and opportunities to develop new routes, planning to reduce fixed costs by directly buying such planes instead of using them via operating leasing deals.

The B727-8 requires 12,600 kg of fuel for the Incheon-Bangkok route, 18% less than 15,400 kg by the B727-8000NG.

The new model also lowers maintenance costs by about 10%. 

In addition, Jeju Air said the B737-8 has a flying range more than 1,000 km longer than the B737-800NG to reach Central Asia and Indonesia, enabling the development of new routes.

Write to Jae-Fu Kim at hu@hankyung.com