Korean Air announced that it will expand its operations for the winter season to meet resurgent demand by resuming services and increasing operations to China, Japan, Southeast Asia, North America and Oceania.

The airline said it will also be launching a new scheduled service to Phu Quoc, Vietnam, on November 26.

The IATA (International Air Transport Association) winter season begins on the last Sunday of October and ends on the last Saturday of March every year, and the IATA Winter 2023 season will be from October 29 to March 30, 2024.

In the announcement, Korean Air said seat capacity — measured by Available Seat Kilometers — reached approximately 85% of pre-pandemic levels in September and is expected to recover to over 90% with the launch of the winter schedule.

Resuming more services in China, Japan

After three years and seven months of hiatus, Korean Air said it will resume services to three cities in China and Japan, respectively.

It noted that network recovery in China and Japan has been "relatively slower" compared to other regions, and the resumption will help the airline to restore its expansive global network.

For the China routes, Busan-Shanghai and Seoul Incheon-Xiamen will operate daily, and Seoul Incheon-Kunming four times a week. 

From late October, the airline will resume routes from Seoul Incheon to Kagoshima, Niigata and Okayama with three flights a week.

Korean Air said it would expand its China network capacity by increasing the Seoul Incheon-Beijing frequency to 18 times a week from daily, Jeju-Beijing to four times a week from three; Seoul Incheon-Shenzhen and Seoul Incheon-Xian to daily from four times a week; Seoul Incheon-Wuhan to four times a week from three; and Seoul Incheon-Hong Kong to four times a week from two.

Korean Air will increase frequencies on the Seoul Incheon-Osaka and Seoul Incheon-Fukuoka routes to four daily from three and on the Seoul Incheon-Tokyo Narita route to four daily from two.

The airline said it will also expand services on the Seoul Incheon-Nagoya route to operate 17 times a week from two daily until December 27.

In the Southeast Asian region, the airline will increase flight frequencies on the Incheon-Bangkok route to five times daily from three; the Incheon-Manila route to three times daily from two; and the Seoul Incheon-Delhi and Seoul Incheon-Kathmandu routes to four times a week from three. The Incheon-Chiang Mai route frequency will increase twice daily from daily until March 2 next year.

Frequencies on the Seoul Incheon-Auckland and Seoul Incheon-Brisbane routes will increase daily from five times a week from November 10 to March 18 next year. The Seoul Incheon-Las Vegas route frequency will also increase to five times a week from four.

Expanding passenger services will expand routes for Korean Air's cargo operations, allowing goods to be transported in the belly hold.