Airlines upbeat on Vladivostok route

Budget airliners are upbeat about Russia’s decision to adopt an open skies policy for Vladivostok, which will allow all foreign airlines to fly there by simply notifying the authorities.

Russia hopes to develop Vladivostok Airport, which is less than a two-hours flight from Incheon International Airport, into a major international hub for passengers flying between East Asia and North America via Siberia, according to Russian media reports.

Seoul’s Land Ministry said it has asked the Russian government to confirm the openskies status.

“We will have to wait and see if Russia decides to fully deregulate or leave partial regulations,” a ministry official said.

Most low-cost airliners’ international routes have overlapped so far as the small Boeing 737 planes they operate are limited to flights of four hours.

For example, all of Korea’s low-cost airliners ― Jeju Air, Air Busan, Jin Air, T’way Air and Eastar Jet ― are competing for flight slots in Thai airports after the two countries agreed in June to no longer limit the number of air carriers that can run flights.

Korea and Thailand struck an open skies deal in 2006, but had allowed only four carriers from each nation to operate.

The airline industry sees brimming demand for the Vladivostok to Incheon route, with steady traffic of tradesmen and Russians transferring on their way to Southeast Asia, as well as to Busan, where Russians make up a significant portion of the foreign population.

“Vladivostok suits the taste of budget carriers in terms flight hours as they seek to diversify their routes which are currently confined to southbound,” a budget carrier official said.

Routes to parts of mainland China will be open after next month’s aviation talks between Korea and China. Korea and Taiwan have also recently agreed to let more carriers enter service between Gimpo and Taipei’s Songshan airport, and between Incheon and Taipei, bearing new opportunities for budget fliers.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)