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Asiana Airlines will double its weekly Seoul–Melbourne flights when it returns for another seasonal service later this year.
Starting on 2 July and running to 2 September, Asiana will operate four weekly return A350-900 flights between Seoul and Melbourne, up from the two weekly flights in its current seasonal service, which is set to end this month.
Flights will depart Melbourne at 11:10pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, arriving in Seoul the next day.
Jim Parashos, Melbourne Airport’s chief of aviation, said the route had seen strong demand over the end-of-year peak period.
“Seoul was Melbourne’s largest unserved market, so it was no surprise to us when in January we saw an average load factor of 96 per cent on all Asiana flights arriving into Melbourne Airport, which represents fewer than 10 vacant seats free on almost every flight,” he said.
“We know there’s huge demand for this service with more than 4500 passengers flying between the two cities across December and January. This new seasonal service will coincide with Korea’s peak holiday period, so we expect it to attract even stronger demand.
“This is a big commitment and sign of faith from Asiana in the Melbourne market and will hopefully pave the way for year-round services in the future.”
Asiana was the first airline to reconnect Melbourne with Seoul since the pandemic when its seasonal service recommenced in December.
January 2024 was the second consecutive record month for Melbourne Airport after December 2023 saw it break one million monthly international passengers for the first time since the pandemic, with the airport also setting a new all-time monthly record for international flights at 4,976.
Following Asiana’s commencement of services between Melbourne and Seoul on Boxing Day, Melbourne Airport now also has the largest number of international carriers in its history, with a total of 38.
“An average daily international flight is worth more than $154 million a year to the Victorian economy and gives exporters more options for sending high value, time critical goods into foreign markets,” said Parashos.
“In December we became the first capital city airport to exceed pre-pandemic international capacity and announcements like this show we are not looking back in 2024. “
