Korean Air is turning its eyes back towards Europe with the announcement that they are to restart four services.
Korean Air Boeing 787-9 at Madrid Airport – Image, Economy Class and Beyond.
The airline will welcome back coverage to Prague and Zurich at the end of March, followed by the resumption of the Istanbul and Madrid routes at the end of April.
Here’s a chart provided by the airline with its intended plans. The text is below:
Starting with March the airline will operate flights to Prague three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 27th March.
The flights will depart from Incheon at 12:45 and arrive in Prague at 16:55. The returning flights will depart from Prague at 18:50 pm and arrive in Incheon at 11:50+1.
Moving onto the banking capital that is Zurich, this will start on the 28th of March, operating three times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Flights will depart from Incheon at 12:20 and arrive in Zurich at 17:30. Returning flights will leave from Zurich at 19:30 and arrive in Incheon at 13:35+1.
Next up is Istanbul, which will operate from the 24th of April. Again, the airline will operate flights three times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Flights will depart from Incheon at 13:40 and land in Istanbul at 19:40, while the returning flights will leave Istanbul at 21:20 and arrive at Incheon at 13:25+1.
Finally, the Madrid route will resume on the 25th of April. The airline will operate services three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
Flights will leave Incheon at 11:35 and arrive in Madrid at 18:00, while flights departing from Madrid will depart at 20:00 and arrive in Incheon 15:55+1.
Small steps to rebuilding the network
Korean Air is being very cautious with this network growth, choosing to deploy the minimum amount of aircraft to make a sustainable service, with markets in effect being tested if they can sustain more than three flights a week.
For Korean Air, its a chance to understand the current realities of if the passenger flows and see which ones are suitable for scaling up – or maintaining a viable service until passenger demands returns appropriately.
With the airline constancy looking at network and considering the operatunities (as well as challenges), it will be interesting to see where Korean Air wishes to restablish a network link next.