By Pacific Island Times News Staff
Jin Air Co., the budget carrier unit of Korean Air Co., has resumed flights to Guam to preemptively respond to pent-up travel demand despite the extended Covid-19 pandemic, Yonhap news reported today.
On Wednesday, Jin Air began operating two flights a week on the Busan-Guam route as South Korea moves to further ease virus curbs amid accelerating vaccinations.
The Guam Visitors Bureau said Korean and T'Way will add more seats to Guam, following the South Korean government's recent announcement of its plan to ease travel restrictions by March 21. The Korean government is expected to lift mandatory quarantine for returning travelers who are fully vaccinated.
Korean Air plans to expand flights from its current twice-weekly schedule to four times a week by April 20, GVB said.
T’way also plans to resume service twice a week starting April 23.
"In addition, Jin Air announced it will continue to service direct flights to Guam twice a week. The adjusted schedule is estimated to bring 5,307 total seats to Guam from Incheon," GVB said.
While most of the air seats will come from Incheon, Jin Air and Air Busan announced both airlines will resume services from Korea’s southern city, Busan. Jin Air will start twice-weekly service on April 16 while Air Busan will start service on April 30.
The updated schedule will bring the total seat capacity for April to 6,500 seats, which is 3,000 more seats when compared to March 2022. The total seat capacity for March is 3,400.
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“We’re excited for the return of travelers and we thank the airlines flying from South Korea for their continued partnership,” said Carl Gutierrez, GVB president & CEO. “It’s been a long journey but our island is ready to welcome our visitors back to Destination Guam with our warm hospitality and Håfa Adai spirit.”
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More flights are anticipated going into the summer season. In May, Air Seoul and Jeju Air are considering resuming direct services to Guam.
According to Yonhap, Jin Air also offers flights from Incheon to Guam, Fukuoka, Cebu, Indonesia's capital city of Dhaka and China's Xian mainly to meet travel demand from businesspeople and South Koreans residing in the regions.
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