Korean Air to boost flights to China, Japan amid rising demand

Korean Air Lines announced that flights to China and Japan that were halted during the pandemic will resume, and some current routes will expand.

A carrier operated by Korean Air Lines [KOREAN AIR LINES]

Korean Air Lines will resume flights to China that were halted since the pandemic and expand more routes to Japan amid rising demand.

The Busan-Shanghai and Jeju-Beijing routes will resume on July 1, running seven times a week, the country's biggest carrier said Thursday.

The Incheon to Hefei flight will restart on Aug. 19, flying five times a week, while flights connecting Busan to Beijing will operate six times per week starting Sept. 16. The Incheon-Kunming will be resumed on Oct. 14 for four times a week.

Some Chinese routes that resumed before will see a frequency increase.

From July 1, the Incheon-Dalian route will temporarily increase to 11 flights a week from seven until Sept. 15, and the daily Incheon-Tianjin route will be upped to twice daily from Aug. 5 to Oct. 20.

Flights connecting Incheon to the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar will operate eight times a week from the current six from July 1 to Sept. 30.

The full-service carrier will also expand flights to Japan amid a surging number of travelers to the neighboring country recently.

The Jeju-Narita route will resume to three times a week from July 19 to Oct. 25. The Incheon-Okayama route will increase from three to five flights per week starting Aug. 3, while the Incheon-Kagoshima route will be upped to five from three starting Sept. 2.

"As a leading global airline, Korean Air is dedicated to enhancing its extensive global network to meet the diverse needs of its passengers, and to providing exceptional services to ensure a seamless and enjoyable travel experience," a spokesperson for Korean Air said.

The airline recently selected Air Incheon, a cargo carrier, as a preferred bidder to acquire the freight business of Asiana Airlines. The sell-off is a part of Korean Air's merger process with Asiana.

The merger, initiated in November 2020, awaits approval only from the United States among the 14 mandatory reporting countries.

Korean Air expects the approval to be guaranteed as early as in October.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]