Japan Route Air Travel Recovers to 87% of Pre-COVID Levels
"Active Service Enhancement Promotions Underway"
[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] Airlines are focusing on attracting passengers on Japan routes by increasing flights and running promotions. This is because among the China and Japan routes, which account for the largest portion of sales, only the Japan route has reopened for international travel.
According to the aviation industry on the 2nd, the number of international passengers using Incheon International Airport in October this year was 2,290,327, a 641% increase compared to 309,062 in the same period last year. It also increased by 27.1% compared to 1,802,378 in the previous month.
The reason for this passenger increase is the recovery of the Japan route. Since Japan implemented quarantine exemptions from May and allowed visa-free entry in October, the number of travelers to Japan has been increasing.
In particular, airlines are strengthening the increase of flights on Japan routes instead of China. This is because the air route to China has not yet opened due to quarantine and other restrictions. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport authorized international flights for 74 airlines during the 2022 winter season (October 30, 2022 ? March 25, 2023) with 162 routes (29 resumed operations) and 2,711 weekly flights (an increase of 785 weekly flights). Among these, Japan accounts for 736 weekly flights, recovering to 87.1% of the 845 weekly flights during the 2019 winter season. In contrast, China had only 68 weekly flights, compared to 1,164 weekly flights in the 2019 winter season.
Following the Ministry’s authorization, airlines are rushing to increase flights on Japan routes. Jeju Air resumed the Incheon?Okinawa route with a weekly schedule of 7 flights starting today. Air Busan also resumed operations on the Busan?Sapporo route from November 30.
In addition, various services and promotions are being offered. Korean Air introduced the Airbus A321neo equipped with fully flat 180-degree business class seats on small aircraft for the first time among domestic airlines. This aircraft is mainly deployed on short-haul routes such as Southeast Asia, China, and Japan.
T’way Air released the 2023 calendar titled '23 and Beautiful T’way Calendar' and for the first time produced a Japanese version of the calendar. Since it operates multiple Japan routes including Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Sapporo, the calendar will be used for promotion and sales within Japan. Jin Air is also offering fare discounts and excess baggage benefits to members who pay for Japan-bound tickets with Hyundai Card.
An aviation industry official explained, "Compared to before COVID-19, the number of routes operating between Korea and Japan is still less than half, but there are many routes that can resume operations," adding, "This is because of the recent weak yen and the large pent-up demand for travel to Japan suppressed by COVID-19."
In particular, the increase in Japan routes is expected to be an opportunity for airlines to improve their performance. Park Soo-young, a researcher at Hanwha Investment & Securities, said, "Since the full resumption of Japan route operations on October 11, a meaningful recovery in passenger transport by domestic low-cost carriers (LCCs) has finally been observed," and added, "Although the pent-up effect of overall passenger demand due to the economic downturn is unlikely to be significant, strong demand is expected to surge for short-haul routes such as Japan for the time being."
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