After the quarantine exemption was enforced, a Korean businessman, Kim, who was looking for a flight ticket for a visit to Korea, which he had been waiting for, had to be embarrassed by the price that was too high. This is because, as before the Corona crisis, the usual unrestricted business class ticket amounted to a whopping $7,000. “No matter how many Koreans want to go to Korea, the number of flights has decreased,” Kim said.
As the Korean government lifted the mandatory quarantine for overseas arrivals, demand for flights to Korea from Korean Americans exploded, and the popularity of business class seats on airplanes is also skyrocketing. As the consumer sentiment for retaliatory travel, which was suppressed by the COVID-19 outbreak, has worked and the recovery of business seats has been slow, it is not only difficult to obtain business class tickets, but also prices are skyrocketing.
According to the Korean travel industry, the reservation sales rate is also rising sharply as the demand for business class on flights to Korea has increased recently. As a result, business class reservations close earlier than economy class reservations at some times, and prices have also skyrocketed.
The basic price of business class tickets for national airlines such as Korean Air and Asiana Airlines is $4,200, but as reservations are quickly sold out until next month and June, the price of the remaining business class tickets is well above $4,000 and $5,000. In the case of a business class ticket that departs SF in early June and returns to SF on the 20th, the cheapest is on sale at around $4,500. For weekend departures, the price of a business class ticket goes up to $7,000.
SF Korean Air said, “As more Koreans are looking for business class, the price of business class tickets has risen significantly.” “For flights departing from SF in May and June, more than 90% of both economy and business class reservations are occupied, and business class flight prices remain. “It has skyrocketed to $7,000,” he said.
Asiana Airlines branch manager Jang Yoon-jong also said, “Since the self-quarantine was lifted, the demand for both economy and business class has soared and is currently around 80% full.”
In addition, national airlines will start increasing flights from next month, but the shortage of business class is also a factor in the surge in business class ticket prices.
Based on flights departing from SF, Korean Air has 30 business class seats and Asiana Airlines has 28 seats per flight.
Due to this situation, it has become even more difficult to upgrade seats or purchase business class tickets using unused mileage due to the COVID-19 crisis. As the popularity of business class increases, the number of Koreans who want to purchase business class tickets for the second half of this year in advance is also increasing significantly.
As the demand for Korean-bound travel continues to surge, the concerns of national airlines are deepening. Although we are considering increasing the number of flights or changing the type of aircraft by comprehensively reviewing aviation demand, it is expected that it will take some time before this becomes a reality.
An official of the national airline said, “Currently, we are analyzing whether the explosive demand for travel to Korea is an optical illusion caused by the atmospheric effect or a temporary phenomenon. It will take some time,” he said.