Wednesday, July 9, 2025
Jeju Air will introduce Busan–Shanghai direct flights on July 25 within a wider overseas expansion initiative spurred by rapid increases in demand for China visa-free travel. With ease of entry regulations now appealing to more South Korean tourists, the airline will look to build on this trend by providing convenient travel between two key commercial centers. This development not only enhances Busan–Shanghai connectivity but also prepares Jeju Air to exploit a rebounding outbound travel market seeking short-haul, visa-free breaks.
Jeju Air readies international expansion by adding both new and re-added services that will strengthen air connectivity between South Korea and major cities all over China. Central to this endeavor will be the addition of Busan-Shanghai nonstop flights, which will begin on July twenty-fifth. Such a move comes amidst a rampant surge in travel demand across borders that has mainly been catalyzed by China’s recently launched visa exemption policy towards several countries, including South Korea.
Jeju Air will launch its new Busan–Shanghai route with four weekly flights, operating on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Departures from Busan’s Gimhae International Airport are scheduled for 10:15 p.m., allowing travelers to arrive at Shanghai Pudong Airport by 12:05 a.m. the next day. Return flights will take off from Shanghai at 4:00 a.m. and arrive back in Busan by 6:40 a.m., offering overnight travel in both directions. This convenient schedule is designed to cater to both business passengers and leisure tourists seeking efficient connections that avoid long daytime transits.
Beyond Busan, Jeju Air also aims to reach deeper in China from its key base at Incheon. From October first, it will launch a route to Guilin, a scenic city famous for its spectacular karst mountains and popularity amongst nature and culture tourists. This route will also operate four times a week and indicates the airline’s intentions to broaden its China network beyond the usual key hubs.
Jeju Air’s entry into China does not end there. It has also reinstated services on its Jeju–Xi’an route, which had temporarily ceased in previous stages of the pandemic. It has also stepped up frequencies to lesser-known but key cities including Weihai and Yanji. All these are indications of a wider approach by the airline to rebuild essential air links that cater not just to tourism traffic but also business links and family ties between China and South Korea.
This rekindled travel to China can be directly attributed to China’s November 2024 announcement that it will introduce a visa-free entry policy for visitors from increasingly long lists of nations. It has had a transformative effect upon regional travel behavior, enabling South Korean visitors to more easily make spontaneous or short-term trips to other Chinese cities. Consequently, low-cost carrier Jeju Air, for one, has had a significant spike in demand.
In concrete terms, Jeju Air has seen its passenger traffic on China routes surge from approximately thirty-one thousand in January to fifty-four thousand by June. That represents a jump of more than seventy percent in just six months. Alongside this increase in passenger volume, the airline’s load factor — a key metric indicating how full its flights are — has improved significantly. In the first quarter of the year, Jeju Air’s China-bound flights averaged boarding rates in the mid-seventy percent range. By the second quarter, that figure had risen to the mid-eighties, underscoring the growing profitability and efficiency of these routes.
To celebrate its launch of its Busan–Shanghai route and broader China network growth, Jeju Air has launched a limited-time promotional fare on multiple popular routes. Passengers who book their ticket by July thirteenth will have discounted seats available on certain routes, such as Busan to Shanghai, Incheon to Weihai and Qingdao, and Jeju to Beijing. Valid travel dates vary by route, but travelers can select their dates of travel based on which suits their schedule foremost. Such promotions are rolled out to further entice price-sensitive travelers and maximize the current hype about simplified China travel. Its strategy indicates strong emphasis on seizing post-pandemic travel rebound. Although regional carriers continue grappling with economic volatilities and changing demand structures, Jeju Air adopted a more bullish approach by rapidly reconstructing its China route network and aiming at high-traffic cities as well as nascent second-tier cities. It targets unmet travel demand that had accumulated over the previous years.
Jeju Air’s time seems right. China’s domestic and international tourism markets are both maintaining healthy recoveries, and travel demand, regardless of purposes — whether sightseeing, visiting family, shopping, or business — from South Korean travelers will continue to grow, at least, in the remainder of this year. Coupled with convenient privileges of visa-free entry and appealing price, the airline will gain popularity for travel across borders between China and South Korea.
Additionally, Jeju Air’s low-cost model complements today’s travel climate. As economic uncertainty persists and travelers are increasingly looking for more bang for their buck, the airline provides discounted rates without compromise on necessary convenience or safety. This will see it make inroads on full-service competitors, not to mention other low-cost opposition that also operates on identical routes.
Throughout the following months, the airline will likely continue assessing other Chinese cities for future service. As new international agreements lift restrictions and travel demand recovers, Jeju Air should continue to lead the region’s low-cost international air travel market. By being able to immediately respond to changes in policy and market demand, compounded by expanding networks of links, it will continue to play a key role in deepening air links between China and South Korea.
Jeju Air will begin Busan-Shanghai services on July 25 to meet surging demand for travel by South Korean tourists looking to exploit China’s expanded visa exemption, a strategic addition to Jeju Air’s international route network. Now that travelers are flocking back to airports, Jeju Air’s expanded operations and advertising initiatives create a compelling reason to rekindle the cultural and economic links between two nations. With strategic implementation, expanded capacity, and precise knowledge of passenger demand, the airline is forging a strong path toward regional air travel’s future.
