Asiana feels chill in air travel from frosty S.Korea-Japan ties (updated)

Trinity Airways Co

30/07/2019 04:12

(Adds background and details)
    SEOUL, July 30 (Reuters) - South Korea's Asiana Airlines Inc
 020560.KS  said on Tuesday it plans to switch to smaller planes
for some of its Japan routes starting September due to declining
demand amid a worsening diplomatic and economic row between
South Korea and Japan.
    The country's second-largest full-fledged carrier does not
currently have plans to discontinue any routes to Japan, but it
is monitoring the situation, a spokesman at Asiana Airlines told
Reuters. 
    Asiana Airlines said it will fly smaller aircraft for three
routes to Japan's Osaka, Fukuoka and Okinawa departing from the
country's capital Seoul.  
    Last month, Japan tightened controls of exports of high-tech
materials to South Korea, in apparent retaliation for a South
Korean court ruling over wartime forced labour. Such disputes
have prompted a widespread boycott of Japanese products and
services, from beer to clothes and travel in South Korea.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N24H28B 
    South Korea's airline and tourism firms have been grappling
with rising competition and falling travel demand to Japan - a
destination that had been popular among younger tourists.
    Korean visitors to Japan tripled over the last five years,
and in 2018 accounted for 24.2% of total visitors, making them
the second largest after visitors from China, according to Japan
National Tourism Organisation data. But latest figures showed
South Korean visitors during the first half of this year were 4%
down on year-ago levels.
    South Korea's top carrier Korean Air Lines Co Ltd
 003490.KS  on Monday said it will suspend flights between the
South Korean city of Busan and Japan's Sapporo from Sept. 3,
citing lean demand.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N24U1F8
    Even before the row erupted, several budget carriers
including T'way Air Co Ltd  091810.KS  and Eastar Jet had
announced plans to cut unprofitable routes between the two
countries from mid-August. 
    

 (Reporting by Heekyong Yang and Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Simon
Cameron-Moore)
 ((Heekyong.Yang@thomsonreuters.com; +82 2 3704 5647; Reuters
Messaging: heekyong.yang.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))