Asiana Airlines has decided to operate its new Incheon–Budapest route three times a week. It had initially planned to fly twice a week, but decided to add capacity from the launch, considering that demand for the route is gradually increasing.
Asiana Airlines, which posted a loss last year, is expanding operations on high-demand routes to continue efforts to improve profitability.
According to the aviation industry on the 12th, Asiana Airlines will begin operating the Incheon–Budapest route three times a week on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays starting Apr. 3. The aircraft will be the A350-900 with 311 seats.
Asiana Airlines said at the time it announced the launch of the route that it planned to operate twice a week on Fridays and Sundays, but decided to add capacity from the start of service in light of rising demand for the route.
The Incheon–Budapest route is a high-demand route where passenger numbers increase in line with the number of flights. Passenger numbers on the route rose from 51,550 in 2022 to 156,338 in 2023, and came to 101,389 last year.
During the same period, the number of flights was 239 in 2022, 665 in 2023, and 420 last year. While total passengers peaked in 2023, passengers per flight were highest last year at 241. That is 3% more than the 235 in 2023.
Asiana Airlines posted an operating loss of 345.2 billion won last year, shifting to a deficit from an operating profit of 275.7 billion won the previous year. revenue also fell 12.6% over the same period to 7.2668 trillion won.
Because of this, it is focusing even more than before on routes with high profitability. Starting on the 29th of next month, when the summer schedule begins, it plans to expand China routes by 28 flights a week (21%) compared with the winter schedule, to 161 flights a week. Total passengers on all China routes last year rose 22% from the previous year to 16.8 million.
Also, the high-demand Incheon–Milan route will operate three times a week starting at the end of March. The route carried 107,018 passengers last year, up 19% from the previous year.
An Asiana Airlines official said, "We plan to enhance profitability by improving schedule efficiency, adjusting unprofitable routes, and entering new European markets," adding, "The additional Budapest flights are intended to meet diverse customer demand by adding extra charters to increase options."