By Hwang Ihn-taek
Intern

Tourists will be able to travel between the South Korean capital, Seoul, and Japan's second largest city, Osaka, more conveniently, thanks to a collaboration between the two flag carriers of the neighboring countries.

Korean Air announced Thursday that Korean Air ticket holders will be allowed to travel on Japan Airlines (JAL) and vice versa for the agreed route under the "free-sale code sharing" regime, reached recently by the two airlines.

The "free-sale" code-sharing scheme stipulates that two airlines provide booking and ticketing services separately, even for the other's flights, on a first-reserved-first-ride basis.

The scheme will come into effect on Dec. 1 for Korean Air's seven weekly flights from Seoul-Gimpo Airport to Osaka-Kansai Airport, and on Jan. 10 for JAL's seven flights on the same route, a Korean Air spokesman said.

Therefore, Korean Air passengers will have seven extra flights per week to choose from on the Gimpo-Kansai route, as JAL will carry Korean Air passengers from Jan. 10.

"The code-sharing scheme will reduce travel hours for businesspeople commuting between the two destinations," said the spokesman.

Korean Air will deploy 295-seat A330 aircraft on the new code-sharing route.

The two airlines have been offering similar service on three routes between the two countries _ the Incheon-Komatsu route, Incheon-Niigata and the Gimpo-Haneda route.