Korean Air expands its operations in Australia: on April 23 the airline reactivated the Seoul (ICN) – Brisbane (BNE) route, which had been suspended since March 15, 2020 in the wake of the COVID-19 health crisis.
See also: After a three-year hiatus, Korean Air resumes flights to Madrid
Flight KE 407 was operated on a Boeing 777 registered with registration number HL7766, which took off from Incheon International Airport (ICN) at 20:30 local time and landed at Brisbane Airport (BNE) at 06:23 the following day, after eight hours and 52 minutes.
Korean Air is the only carrier to operate non-stop services between South Korea and Queensland. The 89,000 annual seats provided by the airline support 1,230 direct and indirect jobs in Queensland.
«South Korea is an economic powerhouse and this state’s third largest trading market and an important technology partner in Queensland’s new energy economy«, said Gert-Jan de Graaff, CEO of Brisbane Airport Corporation.
Korean Air flight schedule to Brisbane
- Seoul/Incheon – Brisbane Flight KE 407 ICN 20:05 – BNE 06:50+1 Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
- Brisbane – Seoul/Incheon Flight KE 408 BNE 08:40 – ICN 17:35 Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
The route is operated on Boeing 777-200ER aircraft with a capacity of 261 seats in three classes (8 Kosmo Sleeper/28 Prestige Plus/225 Economy) and promotional fares are available from USD 558 each way. This new service will also benefit the Queensland cargo market allowing companies to export not only to the Korean market but worldwide.
«We are ready and excited to welcome Queenslanders back on our flights. I must thank the Queensland Government and Brisbane Airport Corporation for helping Korean Air re-launch services«, said Jason Jeong, Korean Air’s regional manager for Australia.
According to data obtained by Aviacionline through the Australian Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development, 108,399 passengers and 28,505.5 tons of cargo were moved between Brisbane (BNE) and Seoul (ICN) in the period from June 2018 to June 2019.
Currently, Korean Air also operates a daily flight between Incheon (ICN) and Sydney (SYD) on Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. In total, the airline offers 6,376 seats per week between South Korea and Australia, making it the leading airline in terms of seats per kilometer offered in this segment according to Cirium.