Four weekly flights from Nov. 9 on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays

A330-200 with 260 seats and business class to serve route

Traffic rights secured in first half of this year now converted to live service

Visa-free entry policy for Koreans to boost Free Independent Travel demand

A Parata Air passenger aircraft [Parata Air]
A Parata Air passenger aircraft [Parata Air]

Parata Air will launch service to Shenzhen, China's high-tech industrial hub, in November. The airline plans to deploy a wide-body aircraft with business class to target both corporate travelers and independent tourists, reflecting the city's concentration of global companies including Huawei, Tencent and BYD.

Parata Air announced Wednesday that it will operate four weekly flights between Incheon International Airport and Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport beginning Nov. 9. Flights will run on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

The outbound flight departs Incheon at 11:10 p.m. and arrives in Shenzhen at 2 a.m. the following day. The return flight leaves Shenzhen at 3:30 a.m. and lands at Incheon at 7:40 a.m.

The route will be served by an Airbus A330-200 configured with 260 seats, including a business class cabin. The launch converts traffic rights on the Incheon–Shenzhen corridor that the airline received from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in the first half of this year into an active scheduled service.

Shenzhen is a leading high-tech city in China's southern Guangdong Province. It is home to the headquarters of Huawei, Tencent, BYD and DJI, and is recognized as a steady source of corporate travel demand thanks to its developed information and communications technology, AI, electric vehicle and new energy industries.

Parata Air is also targeting leisure travelers alongside business passengers. The airline said it sees growing demand from Koreans traveling independently to major Chinese cities, driven by China's visa-free entry policy for South Korean nationals, which has lowered the barrier to travel and spurred interest beyond conventional package tours.

Shenzhen's tourist attractions include Huaqiangbei, a sprawling electronics market district; OCT-LOFT, a former industrial complex converted into a cultural and arts space; Shenzhen Bay coastal park; and the Shekou waterfront area. The airline said it aims to broaden its appeal beyond Shenzhen's tech-city image by positioning it as an urban destination for shopping, dining and nightscapes.

"Shenzhen is not only China's foremost high-tech city but also a place with diverse appeal — a young, dynamic urban culture and a beautiful coastal setting," a Parata Air official said. "We will seamlessly convert our newly secured traffic rights into an active route and deploy the A330-200 with business class to offer differentiated service to a wide range of customers, from corporate travelers to those seeking a fresh urban travel experience in China."

Meanwhile, Parata Air recently marked its first anniversary of operations. Since launching with a Yangyang–Jeju route last September, the airline operated 1,255 flights on that route through late August this year, carrying 177,741 passengers, and has since been expanding its international network to destinations including Japan and Vietnam.


kwater@heraldcorp.com