Incheon, Busan–Xiamen services to begin in October
Cheongju–Xiamen, Busan–Hangzhou to follow in December
New China routes to reach 6 by year-end
Remaining traffic rights to be used through March next year
Eastar Jet is accelerating its China route expansion in the second half of this year. The carrier announced Thursday it will launch four new international routes connecting South Korea with Xiamen and Hangzhou in China, opening services from October and adding more in December. The expansion draws on traffic rights the airline secured from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in April, and extends China connectivity beyond the Greater Seoul area to regional airports in Busan and Cheongju.
The first route to open will be Incheon–Xiamen, operating four times a week — Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays — starting Oct. 28.
Busan–Xiamen will follow the next day, Oct. 29, with three weekly flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
In December, two more regional routes will be added. The Cheongju–Xiamen service will launch Dec. 2 with two weekly flights on Thursdays and Sundays, while Busan–Hangzhou will begin Dec. 3 with four weekly flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
The new routes convert into actual operations the China international traffic rights Eastar Jet obtained from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in April. At the time, the airline secured rights for 11 China routes, including Incheon–Xiamen, Busan–Shanghai, Busan–Beijing, Busan–Hangzhou and Cheongju–Shanghai.
The China expansion is already under way. Eastar Jet launched a sole-operator service on the Incheon–Hohhot route on Aug. 6, flying twice a week. On Tuesday, it also opened a new Daegu–Zhangjiajie route.
With the Xiamen and Hangzhou routes added, the carrier will operate a total of six new scheduled China routes by year-end. The airline plans to put the remaining traffic rights to use on a rolling basis through March next year.
Xiamen will be served simultaneously from three domestic airports — Incheon, Busan and Cheongju. The strategy aims to capture China travel demand not only from the Greater Seoul area but also from the Yeongnam and Chungcheong regions.
Eastar Jet is also targeting differentiation on its Busan departures. Under current plans, the Busan–Xiamen and Busan–Hangzhou routes would be operated exclusively by Eastar Jet among South Korean carriers.
Xiamen is a major port and tourism city in China's Fujian Province, known for its coastal resorts and Gulangyu, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site, making it a high-demand destination for tourists.
Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, draws both leisure travelers to West Lake and business visitors, given its concentration of technology companies and industries.
Eastar Jet is also counting on inbound demand from Chinese travelers. In July, the airline signed a cooperation agreement with the Korea Tourism Organization to attract Chinese-speaking tourists, setting a target to raise the share of foreign passengers on international routes at regional airports from an average of 45 percent this year to 55 percent by 2028. On the Jeju–Shanghai route, foreign passengers accounted for 98 percent of ridership in the first quarter of this year.
"We are expanding China route operations based on the traffic rights allocated in April," an Eastar Jet official said. "Through these new launches, we aim to broaden travel options for Korean passengers heading to China, while also working to attract inbound tourists and grow regional demand."
Meanwhile, Eastar Jet is also growing its fleet to support the route expansion. The airline added one Boeing 737-8 last month, bringing its total fleet to 21 aircraft. It plans to take delivery of four more 737-8s through September, expanding the fleet to 24. The 737-8 burns about 20 percent less fuel than older models and has a maximum range of approximately 6,480 kilometers.
kwater@heraldcorp.com
