Ahn Byung-seok, CEO of Air Busan (4th from the left), and Kim Beom-ho, Head of Future Business Division at Incheon International Airport Corporation (5th from the left), along with other executives, are taking a commemorative photo for the new Incheon-Narita route launch.
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] Air Busan took flight from Incheon Airport on the 25th by launching a new Incheon-Narita (Tokyo) route.
On the day, Air Busan began full operations by transporting 137 passengers on flight BX164 from Incheon to Narita.
Despite restrictions on entry to Japan allowing only 140 of the total 220 seats to be sold, Air Busan reported a nearly full load factor with 137 passengers onboard.
The Air Busan Incheon-Narita route departs Incheon International Airport at 10:00 AM and arrives at Narita International Airport at 12:20 PM.
The return flight departs Narita International Airport at 2:10 PM and arrives at Incheon International Airport at 5:00 PM, operating once a week on Wednesdays.
The aircraft deployed is an A321LR with 220 seats, and the flight time is approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes.
From June 24, the frequency will increase from once a week on Wednesdays to twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Air Busan plans to actively expand its Incheon departure route network starting with the Incheon-Narita route.
Following this, Air Busan will launch the Incheon-Osaka route on the 27th and sequentially open routes to ▲Nha Trang, Vietnam ▲Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia ▲Da Nang, Vietnam ▲Fukuoka, Japan, operating six routes by the end of July.
The strategy is to build a route network focusing on popular travel destinations in Japan and Southeast Asia, which have relatively short flight times and are familiar to Koreans, to meet the rapidly increasing travel demand.
Japan is expected to see a surge in travel demand as the issuance of tourist visas and visa exemptions between the two countries are being restored, and quarantine exemptions for vaccinated travelers are in place.
Southeast Asian countries are also easing entry requirements, so travel demand to Southeast Asia is expected to recover quickly.
An Air Busan official said, “We will continuously expand metropolitan area routes, strengthen our sales network, and plan various promotions to play the role of a ‘catfish’ that will change the metropolitan market landscape, while achieving three goals: advancing Korea’s aviation industry, maximizing company value, and more.”
On the 25th, Air Busan held a commemorative event for the launch of the Incheon-Narita route at Incheon International Airport, attended by Air Busan CEO Ahn Byung-seok, Kim Beom-ho, Head of Future Business Division at Incheon International Airport Corporation, and other executives.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
