Jeju Air to add more flights to its Incheon-Saipan route

The CNMI is expected to see additional daily flights from Incheon to Saipan thanks to Jeju Air come July.

According to Seijin Kim, representative of Marianas Visitors Authority’s Korea Office, come July 17, Jeju Air is expected to add an additional daily flight to its twice daily flight schedule from Incheon to Saipan just in time for summer.

“Starting from July 17, Jeju Air will add one more flight to its schedule. This means we will have three daily flights from Jeju Air for 33 days, which is like a month for the summer season,” she said.

With the additional flight schedule, the Korean market will have an additional 6,000 seats to Saipan.

Currently, the total seat supply for the CNMI is 226,777. With a load factor of 84%, Kim shared that the CNMI is forecasted to see about 190,493 travelers from Korea this year.

This is a 7.33% growth from 2023, Kim added.

In an interview with MVA managing director Chris Concepcion, he said the news of additional flights is welcomed with the impending loss of Asiana Airlines.

“Jeju Air has announced a third daily flight which will take effect next month which is just in time for the summer high peak season. We understand Asiana is suspending flights at the end of this month. We saw this coming as Asiana was having their own financial difficulties. They are in bankruptcy proceedings, and we expect them to merge with Korean Airlines sometime this year,” he said.

Concepcion added that MVA is also engaging with Korean Airlines, who is expected to absorb Asiana Airlines sometime this year, in hopes of getting them to fly service a route to the CNMI.

“So, we’ve already begun engagement with Korean Airlines. We have some discussion going behind the scenes so we can make sure that we are on their radar when they are ready to fly to Saipan,” he said.

According to Saipan Tribune archives, earlier this month, Asiana officially announced that it would be pulling the plug on its CNMI operations by the end of this month.

In a letter addressed to the public, Asiana Airlines regional manager Intak Hwang stated that after 32 years, Asiana Airlines will no longer be serving its Incheon-Saipan route come June 30.

“After three decades of service in the CNMI, our last operation will be on June 30, 2024. Following this date, we will no longer be serving the Incheon-Saipan route. Asiana Airlines has been the front runner in providing quality air travel to Saipan residents and promoting Korean tourism in the CNMI since May 1992. We are proud of all that we have accomplished together with our island partners and would like to thank you all for your loyalty and support in the last 32 years. Please be assured that we will maintain and deliver the high standard of professionalism and service that has set Asiana Airlines apart from competitors until our final flight from Saipan. We once again appreciate your long-standing cooperation and wish you all the best moving forward,” said Hwang.