Jetstar increases flights to Seoul after axing Hawaii route, as South Korea becomes new Aussie favourite

This Asian nation is soaring in popularity among Aussie travellers with Jetstar ditching another route so it can fly here more often.

South Korea is continuing to grow in popularity among Australian travellers with Jetstar revealing it will fly daily from Sydney to the Asian nation’s capital next year to meet demand.

The expansion will make the budget airline the largest carrier between Australia and South Korea.

Jetstar currently operates seven services a week – four flights from Sydney to Seoul, and three from Brisbane.

But from June 17 next year, there will ten return flights between Australia and Seoul each week. An additional 100,000 seats a year are being added to the Sydney-Seoul route.

With the new flights, more than 340,000 seats will be available on Jetstar flights between the two countries annually.

It appears Aussies wanting to travel to South Korea are wanting the cheapest way to get there, with Qantas axing its flights between Sydney and Seoul at the same time Jetstar increases services.

Qantas said there will still be a 4 per cent increase in seats on the route with these changes.

news.com.au understands the end of Jetstar’s twice-weekly Melbourne-Honolulu service as of April 30 next year, revealed last month, has made way for the additional Seoul flights.

Qantas will take over that route, beginning direct flights between Melbourne and Honolulu three times a week from May.

Qantas Group international chief executive Cam Wallace said these decisions were a reflection of the company’s dual brand strategy.

“Qantas launched flights to Seoul after the pandemic, and now that demand has normalised, it’s grown substantially as a leisure market, opening up a great opportunity for Jetstar to increase its frequencies and allow Qantas to redeploy its aircraft to other routes where we are seeing strong demand,” he said.

South Korea is becoming more popular among Australian travellers. Picture: iStock

Jetstar only launched direct flights to Seoul in November 2022.

Jenn Armor, executive manager of customer, said they were the first low-cost carrier to do so and demand had “grown significantly” since then.

“It’s no wonder Seoul is becoming increasingly popular,” she said.

“Its vibrant nightlife and food scene, combined with rich history, famous K-pop culture and shopping, means there’s something for every traveller to enjoy.”

Jetstar is offering fares starting from $309 one-way (for selected travel dates) to celebrate the announcement.

The new Sydney-Seoul services on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from June 17 are still subject to government and regulatory approval.

Jetstar will become the largest carrier between Australia and South Korea next year. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Paul Jeffers

Skyscanner revealed its top trending destinations for 2025 on Wednesday, putting South Korea’s Daegu at number four.

Flight searches in the first six months of the year for travel to Daegu throughout 2024 were up 123 per cent, compared to the same period last year.

Daegu is less than two hours from Seoul on a high-speed train.

Skyscanner’s number one trending destination was Siem Reap in Cambodia (searches increased 529 per cent), followed by Krabi in Thailand (up 141 per cent) and Busuanga in the Philippines (up 125 per cent).

Jetstar CEO Stephanie Tully hinted at an expansion of services to South Korea during an exclusive interview with news.com.au last month, saying it is the right time “for some growth”.

“Australians are loving going to Korea, which has really become a new spot to go,” she said.

In addition to South Korea, Ms Tully said she was keen to expand the Japanese destinations that Jetstar can fly direct to, specifically sharing she would “love to be able to fly directly into Sapporo” – known for its skiing.

A major revamp of the Boeing 787 international fleet, which kicks off next year, is also going to help extend the airline’s reach.

“Places like Vegas and Cape Town are not out of reach,” Ms Tully said, quickly adding this was not confirmation these exact routes were locked in.

India and Sri Lanka have also been mentioned previously.

Announcements on new international routes will be made “really soon,” she said.