		Press Release
		Release Date	Mar 10 (Sun), 2019 Two sheets (2 pages)
Dep.	Int'l Air Transport Div.	Officer	·Manager Shin Yun-geun, Secretary Kim Min-jeong, Secretary Kim Su-jeong ·☎ (044) 201-4215, 4213
Report Time		Please report from the morning of March 11 (Mon), 2019. ※ Communications, broadcast and internet can broadcast after 11:00 on March 10 (Sun)

Korea and France Agree to Increase Flights between Incheon and Paris by up to Two Times a Week

Cooperate to increase flights through the Korea-France Aviation Meeting starting from the ‘20 winter season

□  There will be more flight options to France, a country of fashion and romance

□  The MOLIT (Minister Kim Hyun-mee) announced that it has agreed to increase flights between the two countries by 2.5 units* (up to 2 times a week after the 2020 winter season) through the aviation meeting between Korea and France held for two days from March 7.

* Currently 28 units → 30.5 units from the 2020 winter season
(7-8 Korean Air flights a week, 5 Asiana Air flights, 7-10 Air France flights)

ㅇ  The agreement resulting from the aviation meeting was a follow-up from the Korea-France summit held in October of last year and it gained even more significance as it is judged to be a visible outcome from the summit diplomacy between the two nations.

□  Incheon-Paris flights recorded over 85% annual average occupancy and so economy class seats were almost fully booked all year round. In particular, occupancy during the high seasons such as the summer exceeded 90% making it very difficult to purchase plane tickets.

<Monthly occupancy for Incheon-Paris flights in the past 3 years>

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Average
‘16	78%	79%	71%	77%	79%	88%	90%	86%	85%	86%	79%	82%	82%
‘17	90%	90%	82%	85%	84%	88%	88%	87%	89%	81%	79%	77%	85%
‘18	87%	85%	82%	86%	83%	89%	91%	90%	89%	88%	80%	76%	86%

□  Accordingly, the Korean government included the increase of flights between Incheon and Paris as a summit meeting agenda and worked hard by continuously suggesting to hold aviation meetings to France.

ㅇ However, France maintained a skeptical attitude due to concerns of transportation imbalance and Korean airline companies encroaching the Korea-France aviation market. In result, over half of the aviation meetings held since 2000 fell through (5 out 9 negotiations broke down).

□  But with this meeting, it has become possible to increase the number of flights between the two nations and it is therefore expected that purchasing plane tickets and flying between Incheon and Paris will become more convenient as it is expected to lower the excessively high booking rate.

□ A spokesperson from the MOLIT said, “It will become much more convenient for our citizens who are planning to travel to France in the future through the recent aviation meeting results, and it is also expected that it will contribute to the increased exchange of people and materials between the two countries.”

	For more details regarding this press release or if you wish to cover more, please contact MOLIT International Air Transport Division Secretary Kim Min-jeong (☎ 044-201-4215) or Secretary Kim Su-jeong (☎ 044-201-4213).