Asiana Adds a Second Daily Flight between Seoul and Busan

Asiana Airlines, an airline based in South Korea, has recently revealed that it is adding a second daily flight on its Seoul Incheon Airport to Busan International Airport route. Surprisingly, the new rotation is only available for connecting passengers from international destinations.

For many premium airlines, connecting traffic is one of their main businesses and attracting passengers to connect with that airline at lower fares means more profits and sometimes 100% full aircraft, which is quite hard to achieve. Asiana Airlines has been competing against the flag carrier, Korean Air, for quite a while. It is fairly difficult for a carrier to compete against another for routes at the same fare, and so offering more competitive fares, at lower prices is always better. However, a lot of the time this is hard to accomplish, and airlines such as Asiana Airlines are having to find ways to increase profits more efficiently. By attracting connecting traffic, airlines are able to fill up 2 or more aircraft depending on the passengers destination and the airlines offer. Domestic and long haul routes are some of the most attractive routes for passengers. For example, for flights from San Francisco to Busan, Asiana airlines offers the most flights and always seems to be the cheapest, depending on what date you fly on. Prices vary, but the average is 554 euros, which is considered to be quite a good deal. Korean Air, Asiana's biggest competitor, offers triple daily flights to and from Busan, although is not the cheapest when flying between San Francisco and Busan.

The new Asiana flights began yesterday. The flights are operated by an A321, which has a seat capacity of 171 or 195 seats, depending on the aircraft being used. Korean Air offers one flight with a 737-800 and two with a 737-900. This means Korean Air offers around 26% more seats for passengers.