The number of exclusive international routes operated by domestic airlines has risen to 76 as of this month, marking a 17% increase compared to the same period last year.
An exclusive route refers to a route operated by an airline that does not overlap with routes operated by other airlines.
According to the aviation industry on the 25th, Korean Air operates a total of 34 exclusive routes, the most among domestic airlines.
This marks an increase of three routes over the past year, including the newly launched Incheon–Kobe route last month, the resumed Incheon–Nagasaki route in October last year, and the Incheon–Lisbon route which started operations in September last year.
Asiana Airlines operates seven exclusive routes in Japan and China, including Incheon–Sendai, Miyazaki, Chengdu, and Chongqing. The new exclusive route added over the year is the Asahikawa route, which was launched at the end of last year.
Low cost carrier (LCC) Jeju Air also operates a total of 13 exclusive routes, mainly in Asia.
It operates exclusive routes from Incheon to Shizuoka, Hiroshima, Matsuyama, Oita, and Batam in Indonesia. It also exclusively operates routes such as Busan–Singapore and Jeju–Xi'an.
Among them, the Incheon–Batam and Jeju–Xi'an routes are newly added exclusive routes over the past year. Jeju Air plans to exclusively operate the Incheon–Hakodate route starting on the 5th of next month.
Jin Air operates a total of five exclusive routes, including Busan–Clark and Guam, as well as Incheon–Ishigaki and Miyakojima. Air Busan has seven exclusive routes originating from Busan, while Air Seoul operates one exclusive route on the Incheon–Yonago route.
T’way Air operates six exclusive routes, including Incheon–Zagreb and Bishkek, as well as Jeju–Osaka and Daegu–Ulaanbaatar.
Eastar Jet also operates five exclusive routes, including Incheon–Tokushima and Busan–Kumamoto, Chiang Mai, and Cheongju–Zhangjiajie. It plans to launch the Busan–Phu Quoc route in July.
The operation of these exclusive routes is considered by the industry to be a strategy for airlines to enhance competitiveness and revenue through differentiation.
In popular routes, increasing revenue through competition with other airlines is difficult, prompting airlines to seek niche markets that can yield revenue even with relatively low demand.