Korean Air's new Zagreb-Seoul route is already a big hit.
September 17, 2018 - On Saturday, September 1st, Korean Air landed their inaugural flight between Seoul and Zagreb at approximately 15:30 at Zagreb Airport. Just a few weeks later, Zagreb has become one of the airline’s best performing routes in regard to bookings, reports Ex Yu Aviation.
To recall, Korean Air will operate three weekly flights to Zagreb with an Airbus A330-200 jet until the start of the 2018/19 winter season, which begins on October 28th. From then, Korean Air will begin using its Boeing 777-200ER on the route, and from January 2, 2019, they'll switch to the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The new line can carry between 248 and 269 passengers on the two aircraft.
The airline also announced that its cabin load factor on the Zagreb route this month amounts to 99%, making the Zagreb-Seoul route the highest average cabin occupancy rate within Korean Air's European network - even ahead of Barcelona (98%) and Zurich (92%). Zagreb also placed fourth among the carrier's global destinations! Okinawa, Phuket and Sydney make the top three.
Such strong results can be attributed to the three-day long Chuseok festival.
"As the holiday season approaches, the Zagreb route is close to full,” Korean Air said. "Due to the nature of the festivals, which allow for protracted holidays, long-haul routes are showing better booking rates than mid and short-haul routes.”
The route is also not being used solely by point to point passengers.
“The new Incheon - Zagreb service is the first direct nonstop route from Asia to Croatia. It is also being used by customers to visit other countries in Eastern Europe and the Balkans,” the airline added.
Hanatour, Korea's largest tour operator, also noted that most travelers to Zagreb during the holiday season are young, though there are also large families traveling as groups.
Croatia expects close to half a million Korean tourists this year.
Source: Ex Yu Aviation
