Speaking at the Danang-Daegu air route launch and the carrier’s development plan introduction ceremony, held in HCMC on November 15, Yang Seong Jin, head of Public Relations at Jeju Air, said that the new air route is expected to operate seven weekly flights, with flying time lasting four and a half to five hours.

Apart from the launch of the new air service, the carrier will increase the number of flights from Muan County to the central coastal city of Danang to seven per week, pushing the total weekly flights between the countries to 63, Jin stated.

Since Jeju Air started operating in the Vietnamese market four years ago, the carrier to date has launched six air services connecting South Korea with Vietnam’s four major cities, including Danang, HCMC, Hanoi and Nha Trang. Of these cities, Danang City is the carrier’s largest market in Vietnam, with 30 weekly flights, while each of the remaining three destinations receives seven weekly flights.

In addition, the carrier intends to increase the number of air routes connecting with Nha Trang City in the years to come.

“Danang City is the first tourist destination in Vietnam that South Korean tourists expect to visit,” Jin remarked, expressing surprise at the city’s attractiveness to South Korean visitors.

Data from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism indicates that South Korea is Vietnam’s second largest source market. More than 2.8 million South Korean visitors entered Vietnam during the January-October period, surging by 48.3% year-on-year.

Jin pointed out that three years ago, Japan, China and Thailand were South Korean travelers’ most sought-after destinations, but Vietnam now pips Thailand for the third place.

To meet the rising travel demand for South Korean arrivals, Jeju Air is constantly increasing the number of seats on its aircraft. In 2015, the carrier supplied 150,000 seats, raising the number to 450,000 in 2017, showing a threefold increase. The carrier in October offered 720,000 seats, Jin stated.

“The carrier’s revenue from the Vietnamese aviation market is slightly smaller than that from the Japanese market,” Jin said. Jin also noted that the airline will recruit Vietnamese flight attendants for its operations, stressing that Vietnam is the first market where the carrier will cooperate with native flight attendants to serve on its flights.

Besides this, according to the Representative Office of the Korea Tourism Organization in Vietnam, some 429,000 Vietnamese arrivals are expected in South Korea over the 11-month period this year, up a whopping 42.7% year-on-year. The number of Vietnamese tourists to South Korea this year will rise by over 40% against last year.

In recent years, Vietnam has become South Korea’s dominant source market. Last year’s number of Vietnamese arrivals in South Korea amounted to 323,000, up 28.8% against 2016. South Korea set a target to welcome some 400,000 Vietnamese travelers in 2018, but the result surpassed the figure by November.

A source from the representative office confirmed that there are nine airlines operating air routes linking the two countries.