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| Jeju Air's B737-800 |
By Kim Hyun-bin
Local budget carriers are diverting their flights from Japanese cities to other destinations to prevent further losses from the "Boycott Japan" movement, which has significantly reduced Korean travelers to the island country.
They instead are launching new operations to Southeast Asian countries and China.
The country's largest budget carrier Jeju Air recently announced it will launch flights between Incheon and Harbin in China, starting Oct. 11, three times a week ― Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
The flight will leave Incheon at 6:55 a.m. and arrive in Harbin at 8:30 a.m.
Harbin has hosted the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival since 1985. It also is a historical site for Koreans, as it is where Korean independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun assassinated a prominent Japanese leader more than a century ago.
Ahn shot the first Japanese governor-general, Hirobumi Ito, to death at Harbin Station, Oct. 26, 1909, a year before the Korean Peninsula was taken over by Japan as a colony.
Jeju Air will also launch daily flights between Incheon and Phu Quoc in Vietnam, starting Nov. 21, to meet rising demand for travel to the Southeast Asian country, which has become one of the most popular destinations for Koreans in recent years.
The flight will leave Incheon at 8:35 p.m. and arrive in the Vietnamese city at 12:45 a.m. the following day.
With the addition, the airline will operate eight routes to five cities in Vietnam ― the other four are Hanoi, Da Nang, Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh City.
T'way Air launches Boracay flights
T'way Air has also reduced its operations to Japan and increased flights to other popular destinations.
The airline launched flights between Incheon and Boracay in the Philippines, Wednesday, and plans to resume Incheon-Clark operations, Oct. 26.
"Within this year, we plan to expand the Incheon-Chiang Mai and Incheon-Hong Kong routes to better meet rising demand in the regions," a T'way Air official said.
The airline is also scheduled to launch flights to two locations in China ― Zhangjiajie and Yanji.
It will start operations on the Daegu-Zhangjiajie route Oct. 13 and on the Daegu-Yanji route Nov. 6.
The airline is also working to launch flights from Incheon to Wuhan, Yanji and Shenyeng, as well as from Daegu to Beijing and Shanghai.
T'way Air will bring in two Boeing B737-800NG aircraft before the end of the year and will have a total of 28 aircraft in operation.
The airline will also finish construction of a large training center at Gimpo International Airport in Seoul in the first half of next year.
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