Summary
- The route between Tokyo’s Haneda Airport and Seoul’s Gimpo Airport is some of the necessary and well-traveled routes in Asia, fostering relationships between countries and indicating diplomatic status between nations.
- Korean Air has seen significant growth on this route, with over eight million passengers traveling between the 2 destinations within the last 20 years. The airline plans to totally restore its pre-pandemic routes to serve Japan by January 2024.
- Despite the impact of the pandemic, the route has experienced a full recovery since June 2022, with Korean Air operating each day flights 3 times a day using Airbus A321neo and A330-300 aircraft. This route plays a critical role in maintaining economic, diplomatic, and cultural ties between the 2 countries.
In the case of the world’s most vital and well-traveled routes, few can come near matching the passenger figures seen by some routes in Asia. Certainly one of these lucrative routes is Tokyo’s Haneda Airport to Seoul’s Gimpo Airport.
Linking two of the world’s most vital capitals is an incredibly necessary task, and one which should be done with the utmost care and a focus to passenger experience. Routes resembling these are essential in fostering relationships between countries and may often indicate the diplomatic status between two nations.
Bilateral importance
Back within the winter of 2003, Korean Air inaugurated its latest service from Seoul’s Gimpo Airport to Haneda Airport in Tokyo. The launch of this latest service proved to be instrumental in fostering closer relations between the 2 nations, and as such, it quickly increased when it comes to frequency inside just a few years of its launch. First, it increased to twice each day in 2005, then 3 times a day in 2010.
Over eight million passengers have traveled between the 2 destinations on Korean Air alone over the past 20 years. Korean Air has a complete of 10 destinations in Japan and is planning on fully restoring its 12 pre-pandemic routes that serve the country by January 2024.
Photo: Korean Air
Since this month marks the twentieth yr of operation of the route, celebrations of equal proportions were concurrently held at Gimpo and Haneda airports. Korea Airport Corporation, also often known as KAC, organized the event at Gimpo, which included performances by K-pop groups. Amongst those joining the festivities were government officials resembling the Japanese Ambassador to Korea, together with officials and employees from three other airlines that also serve the necessary route: Asiana Airlines, Japan Airlines, and All Nippon Airways. Moreover, as an indication of appreciation for its customers’ loyalty on the route, a raffle was held where customers got round-trip tickets for the Gimpo-Haneda route with Korean Air.
Meanwhile, at Haneda Airport, a special treat was organized by the aforementioned airlines sharing the route. As a way of commemorating the 20 years the route has been up and running, cabin crew showcased the uniforms they’d have worn when the service first began in 2003.
Photo: Korean Air
Haneda Vs Narita – Which Tokyo Airport Is Best For Travellers?
Discover which of the 2 major facilities is best in your needs.
Current route status
While Korean Air can have suspended service throughout the pandemic, a full recovery has been in place since June 2022. Currently, Haneda sees service from Gimpo by the airline’s Airbus A321neos, and Airbus A330-300s 3 times each day. These each day operations function a critically necessary link between the 2 countries when it comes to economic, diplomatic, and cultural ties.
The present schedule is kind of substantial, as is shown within the table below.
Flight |
Schedule |
KE2101 |
09:00-11:05 |
KE2103 |
16:20-18:35 |
KE2105 |
19:20-21:35 |
More signs of recovery within the region
As we now have unfortunately come to know, Asia as a region has been slow to get better after the worldwide pandemic. Nevertheless, we now have seen promising signs of recovery. From Hong Kong to Singapore, the region has seen large numbers of passengers traversing the networks once more.
Moreover, substantial investments within the Asian aviation sector proceed to materialize. One such recent example is Jeju Air’s decision to take a position in a plan for Vertical takeoff & landing aircraft.
The Countries Leading Asia’s Airline Recovery
A handful of international country markets in India have exceeded their pre-pandemic capacities.