Airline Industry's Lifeline Strategy... Desperate Measures in Domestic Flights and Cargo Sales

The departure hall of Terminal 1 at Incheon International Airport was quiet on the 1st due to the impact of COVID-19. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Je-hoon] The aviation industry, pushed to the brink of collapse due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis, is making desperate efforts to find a way out. Preparing for the period after the 'intensive social distancing,' airlines are massively increasing domestic flights and expanding cargo operations using the lower compartments of passenger planes, pouring all their efforts into these last-ditch measures.

According to the industry on the 19th, domestic low-cost carriers (LCCs) have recently been increasing domestic flights one after another. Jeju Air has decided to launch new routes between Gimpo~Yeosu and Yeosu~Jeju starting on the 29th. These routes will operate once daily.

A Jeju Air official explained, "Yeosu has emerged as a popular tourist destination since the 2012 Expo," adding, "Since it is currently impossible to increase international routes, we decided to launch new domestic routes considering future travel demand."

Jeju Air is not the only one increasing domestic flights. T'way Air recently established a new route between Cheongju and Jeju and plans to operate irregular flights on the Gimpo~Busan route starting in May. Air Busan also temporarily increased flights on the Busan·Gimpo~Jeju routes recently and will resume the Ulsan~Gimpo·Jeju routes from the 25th.

The reason the industry is increasing domestic flights like this is largely in anticipation of the period after 'social distancing.' With the government extending social distancing measures until May 5, there is strong expectation inside and outside the industry that travel demand will show a steady recovery centered on domestic travel thereafter.

An official from a national airline said, "Since overseas travel has been virtually impossible since February and March, we believe that once social distancing ends, the pent-up travel demand will burst out in full force," adding, "Given that the spread of COVID-19 remains severe in many countries overseas, we are also strengthening domestic flights in preparation for this."

Major airlines such as Korean Air and Asiana Airlines are seeking new opportunities through charter flights and cargo operations. In the case of Asiana Airlines, special charter flights were operated on the Incheon~Vientiane route on the 17th and 18th to transport engineers from Samsung Display. Since March, Asiana Airlines has operated three charter flights to transport engineers from Samsung and LG Display.

The 'Belly Cargo' business, which uses the lower cargo compartments of passenger planes to transport freight, is also in full swing. This is a desperate measure targeting the increased international cargo demand caused by the reduction in passenger flights. Since March, Asiana Airlines has deployed passenger planes for Belly Cargo operations on a total of 16 routes with 150 flights (round-trip basis), aiming to improve performance.

An Asiana Airlines official stated, "We will continue to operate special charter flights to transport domestic corporate personnel, serving as a bridge for economic exchange as well as achieving performance recovery effects."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.