Eastar Jet expands Busan international routes, ramps up regional marketing

Eastar Jet announced Friday that it is expanding routes out of Busan while stepping up marketing activities targeting customers in the region.

The carrier currently operates 11 domestic and international routes from Busan, including services to Japan, Taiwan, Southeast Asia and Central Asia.

From August through October, Eastar Jet is adding 58 flights on the Busan-Fukuoka route and 56 on the Busan-Taipei route to meet rising peak-season travel demand, making it easier for local passengers to fly. The airline also plans to launch services on the Busan-Xiamen and Busan-Hangzhou routes before the end of the year.

In line with the route expansion, Eastar Jet is rolling out a range of marketing initiatives to connect with Busan customers. In August and September, the airline is running a brand campaign in partnership with the Haeundae Blue Line Park beach train, one of Busan's most popular tourist attractions.

A beach train featuring the Eastar Jet x Snoopy design will run up to 14 times a day, and a customer-participation social media photo event will be held alongside the campaign.

From Sept. 2 to 3, the airline will take part in a job fair at Bexco in Busan to support local job seekers. A game event open to all visitors at the venue is also planned.

Eastar Jet has also been working to give back to the Busan community more broadly, signing memorandums of understanding with Busan Aviation High School and Silla University to develop aviation maintenance talent and providing hands-on aircraft maintenance training.

"We are continuously expanding our Busan routes while carrying out a variety of marketing and social contribution activities to connect with local customers," an Eastar Jet official said. "We will keep engaging with people of all generations and work to become the airline of choice in Busan."

Meanwhile, Eastar Jet received a commendation from the Busan mayor last year at a ceremony marking Gimhae Airport's 10 million international passengers, in recognition of its contributions to expanding capacity through new Busan routes and boosting passenger numbers at the airport. The milestone was the highest international passenger count at the airport since the 9.87 million recorded in 2018 — the previous record since Gimhae International Airport opened in 1976 — and the first time any regional airport in South Korea had reached that level.