South Korean carrier Jeju Air will begin flying internationally on July 11, linking Hiroshima in Japan with its base on the southern holiday island Jeju. The service will make it one of only three South Korean airlines flying abroad, the others being Asiana and Korean Air. But there will soon be more. Other airlines are starting operations, some saying they will be budget carriers, and the government is dropping restrictions that have prevented new airlines from flying internationally.

Yet another Indonesian airline is starting service, with plans to launch its first operational flight on June 6. Lorena Air has obtained an air operator’s certificate and now only needs to take delivery of a pair of Boeing 737-300s, which President-Director Eka Sari Lorena Surbakti says are currently undergoing maintenance by Malaysia Air System.

Taiwanese airlines are poised for strong growth driven by mainland China in the next few years, even as they struggle now with a stagnant market and heavy losses that forced one carrier, Far Eastern Air Transport, to cease flying last week. Air links with China will probably be opened fully by about 2011, say analysts. That would be a great step forward from the current situation, in which direct flights between the mainland and Taiwan are almost prohibited.