Swiss is expanding its network in Asia with the carrier’s first-ever flights to Seoul.

South Korea’s capital will become the third new long-haul destination in the airline’s summer 2024 schedule, joining Toronto Pearson International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport as new points for the season.

Operations to Seoul Incheon International Airport from Zurich Airport will commence on May 7 using Airbus A340 aircraft. Frequencies will be three per week, departing Zurich on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The return service will be on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

The Switzerland-South Korea market is unserved at present, but Korean Air has scheduled the resumption of its seasonal Zurich-Seoul flights from April 2. According to data provided by OAG Schedules Analyser, the carrier will offer three flights per week onboard Boeing 777-300ER equipment.

Overall O&D traffic between the two countries totaled about 157,000 two-way passengers in 2023, preliminary figures from Sabre Market Intelligence show, down by around 6% on pre-pandemic levels. Approximately 23% of passengers traveled nonstop last year, while Dubai, Doha and Paris were the top three one-stop connecting markets.

Seoul will be the eighth destination in Asia to be served by Swiss this summer, alongside Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, Hong Kong, Mumbai, New Delhi, Shanghai Pudong, Singapore Changi and Tokyo Narita. The airline also becomes the second in the Lufthansa Group fly to Seoul, in addition to Lufthansa’s operations from Frankfurt and Munich.