Over 110 flights, 20,000 seats to be supplied from July to October

[Provided by Eastar Jet]
[Provided by Eastar Jet]

Eastar Jet said Monday it will operate charter flights to Datong, Nantong and Ningbo in China, timed to the Chinese summer vacation season, to capture rising demand for travel to South Korea.

The airline will run charter services on the Incheon-Datong, Incheon-Nantong and Incheon-Ningbo routes from July through October, supplying a combined 110 flights and more than 20,000 seats.

The Incheon-Datong route will operate twice weekly on Thursdays and Sundays from July 9 through Aug. 30, for a total of 32 flights. The Incheon-Nantong route will run twice weekly on Mondays and Fridays from July 3 through Aug. 31, covering 36 flights in all. The Incheon-Ningbo route will fly twice weekly on Tuesdays and Saturdays from Aug. 1 through Oct. 10, with 42 flights scheduled.

Eastar Jet said it decided to add the charter services in response to an expected increase in Chinese travelers visiting South Korea during the local summer break.

Tickets for the charter flights, which will operate as block-seat arrangements, are available through travel agencies.

"We plan to operate charter flights flexibly during the peak season when Chinese demand for visiting Korea rises, maximizing route profitability," an Eastar Jet official said. "We are also pursuing additional charter operations centered on Chinese-speaking markets."

Meanwhile, Eastar Jet secured operating rights for 11 China routes in this year's first-half scheduled traffic rights allocation, including Incheon-Xiamen, Busan-Shanghai, Busan-Beijing, Busan-Hangzhou and Cheongju-Shanghai. The airline plans to launch services on those routes in stages beginning in the second half of this year.


eyre@heraldcorp.com