Travel briefs

Advertiser Staff

Travel within Asia may be on the rise

Japan Airlines Co., Asia's biggest airline, said demand for international travel may begin to grow again from June, one month earlier than previously expected, led by flights within Asia.

"We are now seeing significant growth in demand on (non-U.S.) routes, especially to China and Australia," said Japan Airlines spokesman Geoff Tudor.

The airline last week reported a 10 percent fall in February overseas passengers, smaller than January's 17 percent drop. Passenger numbers to U.S. destinations fell by a quarter in the month.

Japanese travelers have been slow to shake off safety fears arising from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, preferring to travel within Japan or Asia. Still, demand for flights to North America, usually the airline's most popular destination, should return to normal by August, Tudor said.

Demand for flights to Asia fell 1.5 percent to 269,400 in February, the airline said.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong-based carrier Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. said recovering demand prompted it to restore some flights to Los Angeles and Vancouver. The Los Angeles service will increase to 10 flights a week from seven starting June 1, while weekly flights to Vancouver will rise to 14 from 11 beginning July 1, the carrier said.

Japan Airlines resumed flights to Las Vegas in March and plans to add a third daily flight to Hawai'i from Tokyo next month.

Korean Air reports early 2002 profits

Korean Air Co., the country's largest carrier, said it returned to an operating profit in the first two months of this year from a loss in the same period of 2001, helped by an increase in travel demand.

Airlines in Asia are starting to benefit from recovering demand for air travel after the slump triggered by the Sept. 11 attacks.

Korean Air is filling a higher percentage of its airplane seats with paying passengers than last year, reporting a 1.6 percentage point rise in January, and a 1.2-point rise in February. "This clearly shows that things are definitely picking up for Korean Air," said Song Jae Hak, an analyst at LG Investment & Securities Co. "With the recovery in travel demand, Korean Air also benefited from its cost-saving efforts."

Hong Kong sees rise in visitors

Tourists visiting Hong Kong rose 15 percent in February from a year earlier, led by a surge in visitors from mainland China, the Hong Kong Tourism Board said in a statement.

The number of mainland Chinese visitors surged 70 percent to 471,528, followed by Malaysian tourists, whose numbers rose by a third to 21,179, the agency said. Hong Kong's tourism was boosted in February by the three-day lunar New Year holiday.

Mainland Chinese are the leading tourists in Hong Kong this year, growing 43 percent in the first two months from the year-earlier period, it said.

Last year, mainland Chinese outspent visitors from the U.S., Europe and Japan for the first time since the city's tourism board began keeping statistics nine years ago.