Korean Air Launches New Incheon-Kobe Route... Operates Twice Daily

First National Airline to Launch the Route

Korean Air announced on the morning of the 18th that it held a commemorative event at Incheon International Airport to mark the launch of its new route to Kobe, Japan. Korean Air is the first national airline to operate flights on this route.

Choi Jeong-ho, Vice President of Korean Air (first from the left), Shimizu Yuichi, Director of the Japan National Tourism Organization Seoul Office (first from the right), and other key officials are taking a commemorative photo with the crew of flight KE731 to celebrate the launch of the new Incheon-Kobe route on the morning of the 18th at Incheon International Airport. Photo by Korean Air

The event took place in front of the boarding gate at Terminal 2 of Incheon Airport, where flight KE731 from Incheon to Kobe was departing. Choi Jeong-ho, Executive Vice President of Sales at Korean Air, Ko Gwang-ho, Head of Passenger Business Division at Korean Air, Lee Sang-yong, Head of New Business Division at Incheon International Airport Corporation, and Yuichi Shimizu, Director of the Japan National Tourism Organization Seoul Office, attended the event. They celebrated the successful inaugural flight of the Kobe route with a bouquet presentation, ribbon-cutting ceremony, and commemorative photo session.

Starting from this day, Korean Air will operate two round-trip direct flights daily on the Incheon-Kobe route. The flight from Incheon to Kobe departs Incheon Airport at 8:25 AM and arrives at Kobe Airport at 10:00 AM. The return flight departs Kobe Airport at 11:00 AM and arrives at Incheon Airport at 1:00 PM. The afternoon departure leaves Incheon Airport at 3:50 PM and lands at Kobe Airport at 5:30 PM. The return flight departs Kobe Airport at 6:30 PM and arrives at Incheon Airport at 8:40 PM. The flight time is approximately two hours. The aircraft used is Korean Air’s latest model, the Airbus A321neo, equipped with a total of 182 seats (8 Prestige seats and 174 Economy seats).

Meanwhile, Kobe is one of the key cities in the Kansai region of Japan, along with Osaka and Kyoto, boasting a unique blend of Eastern and Western exotic scenery. It is famous for various attractions and delicacies such as Arima Onsen and Kobe beef, one of Japan’s finest quality beefs. Accessibility to nearby cities is also excellent. It takes as little as 20 minutes to reach Osaka from Kobe by express ferry, high-speed rail, or subway.

A Korean Air official stated, "In response to the recent increase in travel demand to Japan, we are strengthening our competitiveness with differentiated routes. We will continue to make various efforts to enhance customer travel convenience."