Several smaller Asian airlines will expand their frequencies on regional routes this autumn, indicating they are seeing a surge in traffic.
Air Busan, which has seven aircraft and is a subsidiary of South Korea's Asiana Airlines, will double its flights between Busan and Osaka to twice daily from November 15. It will add flight BX123/124 in the morning, alongside its existing BX121/122 afternoon flight.
The Taiwanese airline TransAsia, which had 17 aircraft at the start of this year, is increasing flights between Taiwan and Singapore for December. It will operate 13 instead of seven flights weekly with the addition of flights GE889/890.
A spokesperson for TransAsia said that last year the month of December saw exceptionally high traffic on this route, which is why they decided to launch the extra flights during the period this year.
The airline said it was improving its facilities to better cater to business people, opening a VIP room at Taipei Taoyuan International Airport and introducing iPad3s on flights (see story here).
Jin Air, a subsidiary of Korean Air which has a total seven aircraft, is doubling its flights between Incheon and Vientiane to operate four weekly flights instead of two.
The airline said it had seen a steadily growing demand for the flights, particularly from Korean tourists.
Nicholas Olczak