By Do Je-hae
Staff Reporter
Lufthansa will increase the number of weekly flights from Munich to Busan in Korea via Incheon from three to five from Dec. 1. The airline is enjoying growing demand to and from the Korean port and industry metropolis, especially from Korean and European corporate customers.
Lufthansa is the only European carrier serving Busan and the only European carrier flying into two Korean gateways. ``We are very happy with the development of our services in and out of Korea,'' said Christian Schindler, general manager Korea of Lufthansa. ``This summer, despite the economic crisis in many parts of the world, we had the largest number of Korean passengers and the best seat load factors ever in the 25 years of Lufthansa's presence in Korea. We have the perfect mix of Korean and European corporate customers on our flights to and from Busan and we are also very happy about the growing leisure-demand from Korean travel groups and individual customers traveling to one of Lufthansa's 120 European destinations,'' Schindler added.
Lufthansa started services to Busan in 2007 and has been flying to the Korean Seoul since 1984. Today the Germany-based company is the largest European airline on the Korean market and is enjoying a growing number of Korean customers.
The increase of capacity to Busan will be implemented by redeploying the regional tag-flight from Shenyang to Seoul, to Busan.
More information on the Busan-Munich route is available on lufthansa.com or from Lufthansa's Reservation Department in Seoul (02) 3420-0400, or Busan (051) 469-2438.
Lufthansa first began flying to Korea in 1984 and currently offers a total of 13 weekly flights between Korea and Europe with daily flights on the Seoul-Frankfurt route, six weekly flights on the Seoul-Munich route and thrice weekly flights on the Busan-Munich route (via Seoul).
Lufthansa provides a choice of Korean cuisine, including bibimbab, cup noodles with kimchi and red-pepper paste as well as a wide selection of beverages including beer and wine.
First and Business Class passengers can indulge themselves in the new Star Chef menus created by Chef Park Hyo-nam of the Millennium Seoul Hilton with wines specially selected by the World's Master of Sommeliers, Markus Del Monego.
Other amenities include various Korean gazettes and video/audio entertainment offerings, all tailored for Korean travelers. Upon arrival at Frankfurt and Munich Airports, a ``Korean Welcome Service'' is provided with Korean personnel on hand to meet and greet travelers and assist them with all their needs and information.