Chennai on Korean Air radar
Korean Air, which started flying into India from December 2016, has seen a positive response from the trade and is already looking at further expansion.
The airline organised a special Korean Night for its travel trade partners in New Delhi. Speaking at the event, Sang Wook Han (Paul), Regional Manager, Delhi, India, Korean Air, claimed that they have received a lot of support for the airline from their partners. “I have worked in Singapore, the Philippines and Australia before coming to India. My mission here is to expand Korean Air’s network in the country,” he said.
Pukhraj Singh Chug, Managing Director, Acumen Overseas, said that they have seen phenomenal response from the Indian passengers as well as Korean passengers. “We are doing evaluation for cities like Bengaluru and Chennai, but we have not taken any decisions. We will rather full the obligations to the two cities that we are servicing currently — Mumbai and Delhi.” “Especially the service onboard has really attracted a lot of Indian passengers. We are the only one to offer First Class. Even for the economy passenger, the service on board is very well thought through and well taken care of. Korea as a destination is growing, we are seeing the numbers increasing. Thus, with good connectivity, good service onboard, I believe that Korean Air is here to stay,” he asserted.
With a PLF of 79-80 per cent already, as revealed by Chug, future looks quite promising for Korean Air. Han said, “In the first stages, we want to develop our Delhi and Mumbai market. Once it gets successful, we will extend it to the other cities.”
Chug said that they would first focus on making the existing flights daily, and then would work on expansion. “We want to have daily operations and even more. Very soon we will be increasing the frequency. Also, we need to work on our bilaterals. Right now, Korean Air has the opportunity to increase two more flights, which we will announce shortly,” he claimed.