Korean Air will expand its operations for the winter season to meet resurgent travel demand by resuming services and increasing operations to China, Japan, Southeast Asia, North America and Oceania.
The airline will also be launching a new scheduled service to Phu Quoc, Vietnam on November 26.
The IATA (International Air Transport Association) winter season begins on the last Sunday of October and ends on the last Saturday of March every year, and the IATA Winter 2023 season will be from October 29 to March 30, 2024.
Korean Air’s seat capacity (measured by Available Seat Kilometers or ASK) reached approximately 85 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in September and is expected to recover to over 90 per cent with the launch of the winter schedule.
■ New daily service to Phu Quoc, Vietnam
Korean Air will launch a new daily service to Phu Quoc, Vietnam on November 26. Vietnam’s largest island, Phu Quoc is also known as “Pearl Island.” The daily flight departs from Seoul Incheon at 3:45 p.m. to land in Phu Quoc at 7:50 p.m. The return flight leaves Phu Quoc at 9:20 p.m. and arrives in Seoul Incheon the next day at 4:50 a.m.
Phu Quoc, located in the westernmost part of southern Vietnam, is a designated UNESCO biosphere reserve featuring pristine white beaches and evergreen forests. From marine activities and the national park to resorts, the island is an ideal destination for sun seekers year-round. November is considered the best time to travel to Phu Quoc as the dry season begins.
■ Resuming services to cities in China and Japan
After three years and seven months of hiatus, Korean Air will resume services to three cities in China and Japan, respectively. Network recovery in China and Japan has been relatively slower compared to other regions, and the resumption will help the airline to restore its expansive global network.
For the China routes, Busan-Shanghai and Seoul Incheon-Xiamen will operate daily, and Seoul Incheon-Kunming four times a week. Korean Air will proactively increase its capacity to China to meet the growing number of Chinese visitors, especially following China’s resumption of group tours from August to 78 countries including Korea, Japan and the U.S.
From late October, the airline will resume routes from Seoul Incheon to Kagoshima, Niigata and Okayama with three flights a week. The resumption will offer schedule diversity and options for those that wish to explore the many unique destinations the smaller Japanese cities have to offer.
■ Increasing frequencies to China, Japan, Southeast Asia, Oceania and North America
Korean Air will expand its China network capacity by increasing the Seoul Incheon-Beijing frequency to 18 times a week from daily; Jeju-Beijing to four times a week from three; Seoul Incheon-Shenzhen and Seoul Incheon-Xian to daily from four times a week; Seoul Incheon-Wuhan to four times a week from three; and Seoul Incheon-Hong Kong to four daily from two.
Korean Air will increase frequencies on the Seoul Incheon-Osaka and Seoul Incheon-Fukuoka routes to four daily from three; and on the Seoul Incheon-Tokyo Narita route to four daily from two. The airline will also expand services on the Seoul Incheon-Nagoya route to operate 17 times a week from two daily until December 27.
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In the Southeast Asian region, the airline will increase flight frequencies on the Incheon-Bangkok route to five times daily from three; the Incheon-Manila route to three times daily from two; and the Seoul Incheon-Delhi and Seoul Incheon-Kathmandu routes to four times a week from three. The Incheon-Chiang Mai route frequency will increase twice daily from daily until March 2 next year.
Frequencies on the Seoul Incheon-Auckland and Seoul Incheon-Brisbane routes will increase to daily from five times a week from November 10 to March 18 next year. The Seoul Incheon-Las Vegas route frequency will also increase to five times a week from four
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