The passenger flow on flights fromthe United States to China of the Korean Air Lines Co., Ltd. in the first half of this year increased by 55 percent, announced by the airline recently in Beijing.
The airline expects the same strong momentum that will last at least to 2010.
According to figures from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the aggregate number of passengers going to China from the United States grew at an annual rate of 10 percent over the past few years, twice the average growth rate of Transpacific flights.
Korean Air, the largest carrier in the Republic of Korea, currently proclaimed China as its second home market. "We are striving to become passengers' most preferred airline for flights connecting China with the United States and provide more such flights than any other competitor," said John Jackson, Korean Air's marketing director.
"We are launching a multi-million advertisement campaign to facilitate our strategy," Jackson added.
The ROK airline enjoyed an advantage over many U.S. carriers whose flight rights to China are restricted by the government. There are no such restrictions on Korean Air, which flies to more than 20 cities in China, with plans to add more destinations in upcoming years, Jackson said.
"There are not enough planes to meet the market demands of flights bound for China, so Korean Air has been planning to order more flights to strengthen the fleet."
The airline currently has a fleet of 123 aircraft and operates over 80 passenger flights per week to Asia from 12 North American cities.