Korea-China flights highly booked during China's holiday period

SEOUL, Sept. 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korean air carriers have reached nearly 90 percent in reservation rate on flights to and from China for two weeks as Chinese travelers come to Korea during a long public holiday, industry officials said Friday.

Officials expect up to 250,000 Chinese tourists to come to the country for the Oct. 1-7 National Day holiday, an increase from 203,000 last year.

The reservation rate for Korea-China flights came to 89.4 percent for Korean Air Lines during the Sept. 24-Oct. 10 period, the company said. This is a 2.7 percent increase from the holiday period of last year. Flights connecting to Qingdao showed the highest reservation rate of 94.6 percent, followed by Beijing (94.2 percent) and Shanghai (94.1 percent), according to the company.

Asiana Airlines said its rate for routes from China to Korea is 88.7 percent for the Sept. 30-Oct. 3 period. All seats connecting with Beijing and Shanghai are completely booked during those days, while 99.4 percent has been reserved on flights to and from Hangzhou and 88.7 percent for Guangzhou.

Reservations for flights returning to China on Asiana between Oct. 6 and 8 is 89.2 percent, the company said.

Budget carrier Jeju Air said 99 percent of the seats on flights from China to Korea have been sold for the Sept. 30-Oct. 5 period.

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