Air China again taking off for Pyongyang — 3 days a week

The national flag carrier Air China resumed flights between Beijing and Pyongyang on Wednesday — nearly seven months after they were suspended — amid growing demand for travel to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Three flights a week in each direction — on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays — are scheduled.

“The resumption is a market-driven behavior,” the company said. It suspended the service on Nov 22 “due to a decline in market demand”.

Air China started offering regular international flights linking Beijing and Pyongyang in March 2008, although the service was sometimes suspended due to poor ticket sales.

The carrier is the only international airline with routes between the DPRK and another country, except Air Koryo, the DPRK’s national airline.

Air Koryo flies Pyongyang-Beijing, Pyongyang-Shenyang and Pyongyang-Vladivostok, Russia, routes.

As the recent global situation involving the DPRK has warmed up — including the planned meeting between US President Donald Trump and DPRK leader Kim Jong-un and the ease of tension on the Korean Peninsula — Pyongyang has become more appealing for outsiders, which triggered the growing demand for travel, industry insiders said.

Travel agents see the flight resumption as a reflection of growing demand.

Economy tickets start at 2,680 yuan ($419), with firstclass seats going for 4,600 yuan. Flight time is two to three hours.

Yao Xing, who owns a travel agency focusing on DPRK tourism in Dandong, Liaoning province, a city on the border with the DPRK, said more Chinese tourists have swarmed to the DPRK with bilateral communication increasing and the summer peak tourism season approaching.

“The suspensions last year resulted from poor ticket sales,” he said. But that situation has changed. “It now requires at least a month to book a train ticket from Dandong to Pyongyang.”

Dandong airport is under construction. Train is the most convenient transport mode between the two cities. Passengers can board a train in Dandong and arrive in Pyongyang in six hours.

“Travel to the DPRK is not that difficult as outsiders imagine,” he said.

Another travel agent, based in Shenyang, capital of Liaoning province, has begun to have customers who plan to visit the DPRK.

“Since April, there were customers coming to inquire about travel plans to the DPRK . ... To satisfy them, we cooperate with a local agent and start to provide service to travel to the DPRK,” said Wu Xuan, with the travel agency Shenyang Golden Luck Tours.

Before, the agent mainly took orders for traditional tourist destinations, such as the United States, Europe, Australia, Japan and countries in Southeast Asia.

The regular route for Wu’s clients is flying to Pyongyang from Shenyang and meeting a local agent there to start the trip.

However, many large travel agents have not yet offered products to the DPRK due to various concerns, according to Xu Xiaolei, chief brand officer for China Youth Travel Service.

“But we pay close attention to it and will offer relevant products when the market is ready,” he said. Cheng Si contributed to this story.