Korean Air to reduce Japan routes and increase Southeast Asian routes

Korean Air has announced its plans to adjust the frequency of some routes, in consideration of decreasing demand of Japanese routes due to Korea-Japan tensions. At the same time, the airline will increase the frequency of routes in the Southeast Asia, Oceania, and Chinese markets.

Korean Air will suspend the Busan-Osaka route (14 flights a week) from September 16, as well as Jeju-Narita (3 flights a week) and Jeju-Osaka (4 flights a week) from November 1.

The airline will also temporarily suspend some of its other routes. Incheon-Komatsu (3 flights a week) and Incheon-Kagoshima (3 flights a week) will be suspended from September 29 to November 16, and Incheon-Asahikawa (5 flights a week) will be suspended from September 29 to October 26.

For Incheon-Osaka/Fukuoka routes, both routes currently have 28 flights a week, and the frequency will be decreased to 21 flights a week between October 27 and November 16. The frequency of Incheon-Okinawa will be reduced from seven to four flights a week, and Busan-Narita/Fukuoka from fourteen to seven flights a week, between September 29 and November 16.

Korean Air plans to strengthen its route competitiveness by focusing more on other markets, such as Southeast Asia, Oceania, and China in the winter season.

Korean Air will launch a new daily route to Clark, Philippines, starting from October 27. The airline will also add four more operations a week for Incheon-Chiang Mai/Bali, increasing the number of flights per week to eleven. In Oceania, the frequency of the Incheon-Brisbane route will be increased from five to seven flights a week.

Korean Air is also planning to expand its network to China with the launch of new direct services. The airline plans to start direct flights from Incheon to Zhangjiajie and Hangzhou three times a week each, and Incheon-Nanjing four times a week. The service between Incheon and Beijing will be operated 17 times a week, up from the previous 14 a week.

In other changes, Korean Air will boost the frequency on some domestic routes. It will launch a new service between Pohang and Jeju seven times a week, and the Ulsan-Jeju flight will be operated seven times a week, an increase of two flights a week.

The schedule updates are subject to government approval and will come into effect after government approval.