Korean Boycott Drops Air Travel to Japan By 2%

A 2% drop in air travel to Japan is really not that impressive, but airlines are getting themselves prepared in case it gets worse:

Korean airlines are suspending flights and reducing the size of planes on Japanese routes as demand for seats plummets in the wake of a diplomatic-trade dispute between the neighbors.

Asiana Airlines said Tuesday that it will use smaller airplanes on flights to three major Japanese cities – Osaka, Okinawa and Fukuoka – due to the growing boycott in Korea of things Japanese. 

While Airbus 330 planes were used on those routes, the smaller Airbus 321 or Boeing 767s will be used starting mid-September, the company said. 

“While A330 planes can carry some 290 passengers, A321 planes offer 174 seats,” a spokesperson for Asiana said. “Reservations for flights to Japan have fallen by roughly 2 percent year on year at this point, but we decided to change airplane models in case the [diplomatic-trade row] lasts longer.”

Joong Ang Ilbo

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