Jejuair launches Busan–Guilin route with four weekly flights

Jejuair launched a new Busan–Guilin route on Wednesday, operating four flights a week on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, the airline announced Thursday.

On the scheduled service, flights depart Gimhae International Airport at 9:45 p.m. (all times local) and arrive at Guilin Liangjiang International Airport at 12:35 a.m. the following day. The return flight leaves Guilin at 1:35 a.m. and lands at Gimhae at 6:05 a.m. the same day.

Starting Oct. 25, when the winter schedule takes effect, the timetable will be adjusted slightly. Departures from Gimhae will shift to 9:40 p.m., arriving in Guilin at 12:45 a.m. the next day, while the return from Guilin will depart at 1:45 a.m. and reach Gimhae at 6:10 a.m.

Guilin, whose name means "forest of sweet osmanthus trees," enjoys mild and sunny weather from September through November, with temperatures ranging from 15 to 28 degrees Celsius. The city offers a distinctive karst landscape, scenic vistas along the Li River and high-end resort hotels at reasonable prices. Activities such as camping, cave exploration and cycling tours are also popular among independent travelers.

Jejuair already operates Guilin routes from Incheon and Daegu, running four times a week — Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays — and twice a week on Thursdays and Sundays, respectively.

Including the Guilin service, Jejuair now operates 14 international routes out of Busan to major cities across China, Japan, Southeast Asia and Mongolia. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's aviation information portal, the airline carried 1,156,353 passengers on international routes departing Busan from January through August this year, up 13.5 percent from 1,018,295 in the same period last year.

"We will continue to develop routes that reflect travel demand from diverse regions across the country — not just the greater Seoul area — and pursue flexible operations to improve consumer convenience and strengthen our global competitiveness," a Jejuair official said.

Meanwhile, Jejuair plans to move into its own standalone headquarters building in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, in the first half of next year.

Since its founding in 2005, the airline has operated its Seoul office out of facilities belonging to Korea Airports Corporation at Gimpo International Airport. The move will mark the first time in the company's history that it has occupied a building of its own.