So it seems neither Scoot not Jetstar can start services to Seoul in the near future, because SIA has used up all the slots allocated to Singapore carriers, says a Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) article.
The industry website adds that in addition to the four (4!) daily services, SIA also flies seasonal charters to Busan. But even if SIA cancels Busan, it only frees up a maximum of three weekly services.
"Scoot could only operate more services if SIA reduces its operation of four daily flights, which it is unlikely to do as the services feed into its key departure banks." CAPA adds.
It also says the Singapore government tried "on numerous occasions" to expand the bilateral agreement but the South Korean government just didn't budge.
Is protectionism at play? or are we not lobbying hard enough?
Looks like the only cheap option of getting to Seoul for now remains with AirAsia X.
S Korea has LCCs too
Did you know, South Korea was the pioneer in the region's LCC industry? The airlines ply short-haul routes (within a 5-hour radius) domestically and internationally.
Asiana has Air Busan and Korean Air owns Jin Air, other independent airlines include Jeju Air, T'way air and Eastar Jet.
They now fly many new routes out of Incheon and the previously domestic-only downtown Gimpo airport to neighbouring cities within the North Asia region, such as Bangkok, Taipei, Hong Kong and Macau.
Except Korea and the ports they fly to, nobody really knows these small Korean carriers, mainly because there is very little publicity and they don't operate in the LCC model that we're used to.
Their fares are by no means cheap. A random check on Jin Air's Bangkok to Incheon route shows usd350 one-way, inclusive of taxes. A ticker on the homepage says the route's lowest fare can be had for THB5900 or S$245 one-way. For a five-hour flight, the price seems acceptable, but a return trip would then come up to S$600, which I believe would be quite close to a promo fare on THAI, Korean or Asiana.
According to CAPA, the Korea-style LCC which offers perks such as free luggage allowance and drinks (and high prices) "is all the market will tolerate". But now that Peach has entered the market, followed very soon by Jetstar and AirAsia, the players may soon have to adopt the stripped-down LCC model to compete.
So maybe one day when someone in Korea decides to start a long haul LCC and wants to fly to Singapore, we can then perhaps expect a similar reciprocal arrangement to accommodate the additional landing rights.
