Often found at theaters and museums, Kwon Mee-yoo has covered a wide range of cultural fields from K-pop and dramas to theater and fine art for over a decade. Now as K-Culture Desk editor, she tries to connect Korean culture with global readers through fresh perspectives.
Foreign airlines making inroads into Korea
By Kwon Mee-yoo
As the number of Koreans traveling overseas, especially around Asia, continually increases, foreign airlines are making inroads into the market.
According to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, five airlines will open new routes or resume flights on suspended routes.
Air India, the flagship carrier of India, resumed flights from Incheon to Delhi via Hong Kong four times a week from Monday, after 22 months of suspension. The Indian carrier stopped operating its Incheon-Delhi route in October 2008, due to reduced demand following the global economic crisis.
Etihad Airways of the United Arab Emirates plans to launch a new Incheon-Abu Dhabi route, flying seven times a week from November, and Hawaiian Airlines is also preparing to fly from Incheon to Honolulu four times a week beginning next January.
Low-cost carriers from Southeast Asia will also start servicing Korea.
Last March, Business Air of Thailand launched its Incheon-Bangkok route. AirAsia X, the largest low-fare airline in Asia, will start flights from Incheon to Kuala Lumpur daily from November ― the promotional fare will start at a surprisingly low 60,000 won, one-way.
Orient Thai Airlines has also acquired permission to operate an Incheon-Bangkok route daily in December.
As these foreign carriers operate more flights to and from Korea, it will be added competition for local airlines as they struggle to attract more customers.
“More Koreans are going abroad for business or travel and foreign carriers are interested in the growing Asian market, aiming to create new demand,” an aviation industry official said.
The low-cost carriers are successfully catering to Korean flyers who want to fly at a cheaper price.
Korean low-fare airlines are picking up and some of them have turned into surplus, increasing international flights.
Jin Air earned an operating profit of 2.1 billion won in the first half of this year, for the first time since its establishment two years ago. Currently, the carrier operates Incheon-Bangkok and Incheon-Guam routes and plans to add flights to Clark and Macau.
Air Busan also went into the black earlier this year and expanded international flight services to the Philippines, in addition to current routes to Japan.