[THE INVESTOR] South Korean low-cost carriers are further expanding their capacity, increasing their flights to and from destinations in Japan and China. 

Eastar introduces regular flights between Jejudo and Quanzhou on Aug. 29, increasing the regular routes to China to eight.

It already operates flights from Incheon to Jinan and Cheongju to Ningbo, Shenyang, Shanghai, Yenji, Harbin and Dalian, boasting a record of shuttling 1.3 million visitors from mainland China so far.

The budget carrier recently joined U-FLY Alliance, a China-based group of Asia-Pacific LCCs, and is considering launching regular flights from Yangyang to Guangzhou and Shenyang to attract more tourists from the country.

Jeju Air is adding three more to its existing 21 flights between Incheon and Narita, Tokyo, starting from Sept. 7 and four to the current 14 flights between Incheon and Hong Kong.

In July alone, the leading budget carrier has added three new popular destinations, offering services from Incheon to Sapporo, Kota Kinabalu and Phuket, and will increase routes up to 60 by 2020.

“As the competition intensifies, expanding market share has become a prerequisite for survival,” said a Jeju Air source adding that “in addition to operating new routes, we are seeking to expand dominance in major short-distance routes.”

By Hwang You-mee (glamazon@heraldcorp.com)