Departs Incheon at 10 p.m., arrives at 11 p.m. local time

Adjacent to Manhattan — major New York areas within 30 minutes

A Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. [Korean Air]
A Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. [Korean Air]

Korean Air will launch daily service on the Incheon-Newark route starting May 22 next year, the airline announced Thursday.

The route will be operated by a Boeing 777-300ER seven days a week. Flights depart Incheon International Airport at 10 p.m. and arrive at Newark Liberty International Airport at 11 p.m. local time. The return service departs Newark at 1 a.m. and arrives at Incheon at 5:15 a.m. the following day.

Newark is a city in New Jersey and one of the major satellite cities in the greater New York metropolitan area. According to Korean Air, Newark Liberty International Airport sits close to Manhattan, with major destinations in New York City and New Jersey reachable in about 30 minutes by public transit or road.

Korean Air plans to target leisure travelers with the new route. New York draws tourists to landmarks including Times Square, Central Park, the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building, as well as cultural offerings such as Broadway performances, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). The Newark area also offers cultural venues — including the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and the Newark Museum of Art — along with sports stadiums and shopping facilities, allowing visitors to explore both New York and New Jersey.

The airline is also targeting business travelers. New Jersey is home to well-developed industries in finance, pharmaceuticals, biotech, life sciences and logistics, with numerous global corporate headquarters and major offices in the state. Nearby New York has a thriving financial, insurance, media and IT sector centered on Wall Street. Korean Air said it expects the route to serve both leisure and corporate travel demand, improving convenience for customers heading to the US East Coast.

"Through this new Incheon-Newark service, we plan to expand access to the US East Coast and further enhance convenience for tourists and business customers visiting New York and New Jersey," a Korean Air official said. "We will continue to strengthen our Americas route network and offer customers more convenient and diverse travel options."

Meanwhile, Korean Air recently ranked first in the full-service carrier category of the National Customer Satisfaction Index survey administered by the Korea Productivity Center.

The index measures customer satisfaction among people who have directly used a product or service, serving as a benchmark for companies' customer satisfaction levels. Korean Air has topped the full-service carrier category for four consecutive years from 2023 through this year, recognized for its ongoing service improvements based on customer feedback and its efforts to enhance the overall customer experience.


eyre@heraldcorp.com