Star Alliance member LOT Polish Airlines is expanding its Asia network during the northern winter season with the launch of a new route to Seoul Incheon (ICN).

The carrier plans to connect Wroclaw, a secondary city in western Poland, with South Korea’s capital once a week from Nov. 3, subject to government approval. Flights will be aboard Boeing 787-9 aircraft.

The service will be the airline’s third to Seoul and marks its return to international flying from Wroclaw Airport (WRO) after an absence of two years. It will also become the Polish airport’s only long-haul route and first nonstop link to Asia.

As a result of the planned launch, operations from Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW) to Seoul will reduce to 4X-weekly, down from the five return trips provided at present. However, two flights per week will be maintained between Budapest, Hungary, and ICN.

LOT has served the South Korean market since October 2016 when WAW-ICN opened, data provided by OAG Schedules Analyser shows, while flights from Budapest commenced in September 2019. Overall, the airline offers about 5,100 two-way weekly seats on the two routes to and from Seoul.

Although the WRO-ICN route marks a departure from LOT’s traditional long-haul strategy, the Wroclaw region is home to a number of South Korean companies, including electronics manufacturer Heesung.

Total O&D traffic between Wroclaw and South Korea amounted to 33,800 two-way passengers in 2019—around 70% of whom traveled one-stop via Warsaw. Frankfurt and Munich were the second- and third-largest connecting markets.