Korean Air To Start IAH

Miami · Mon Feb 03, 2014 12:01 pm

On May 2nd, KE is launching ICN-IAH 4x weekly flights on a 777-200ER

KE029 ICN0910 – 0830IAH 772 x247
KE030 IAH1040 – 1530+1ICN 772 x247

Source: http://airlineroute.net/2014/02/03/ke-iah-s14/

Here's the rumor thread: Rumor: New Airline Coming To IAH (by Tdan Jan 14 2014 in Civil Aviation)

-Miami

FSDan · Mon Feb 03, 2014 1:36 pm

IAH has quite the impressive lineup these days. Long haul service from BA, AF, KL, LH, TK, QR, EK, CA, SQ, and now KE.

hohd · Mon Feb 03, 2014 2:23 pm

Introducing this flight on a rather short notice. This will compete with Air China's 4 times a week flight for connections to China and also connections throughput East Asia including India.

While KE does not have the Star Alliance feed, most of the traffic they are hoping will be from the Korean end and some business/VFR traffic from IAH. Even for Skyteam, you can only earn base DL miles but not MQM, so it will not benefit the DL frequent flyers in IAH.

thomasphoto60 · Mon Feb 03, 2014 2:40 pm

Quoting hohd (Reply 2):
. This will compete with Air China's 4 times a week flight for connections to China and also connections throughput East Asia including India.

Just an update, CA goes daily on March 30.

yellowtail · Mon Feb 03, 2014 2:44 pm

Quoting FSDan (Reply 1):
IAH has quite the impressive lineup these days. Long haul service from BA, AF, KL, LH, TK, QR, EK, CA, SQ, and now KE.

Its even more colourful when you add carriers like AV and AM in there…..IAH needs to start working on LA/TAM now….I ma 100% sure TAM could fill a 332 to GRU or GIG from IAH even with UA in the market.

IMHO, this is going to hurt SQ and will surely peel off the traffic going to Vietnam that SQ seemed to own. Why go 2 stop to SGN when you could do it in one?

[Edited 2014-02-03 06:48:49]

102IAHexpress · Mon Feb 03, 2014 2:58 pm

Is Korean Air reducing DFW to 5 weekly?

thomasphoto60 · Mon Feb 03, 2014 3:00 pm

Quoting yellowtail (Reply 4):
Its even more colourful when you add carriers like AV and AM in there…..IAH needs to start working on LA/TAM now….I ma 100% sure TAM could fill a 332 to GRU or GIG from IAH even with UA in the market

Ironically given Latin America's geographic proximity to Texas, one would think that IAH's ramps would be teeming with Latin carriers. However with UA's (and CO before that) huge presence from IAH into Latin America, I suspect that few operators from that region would want to tangle with United. That said, I too hope we do see an increase in "South Of The Border" carriers in the not-to-distant-future. Mexican LCC Interjet has expressed an interest in IAH (would be cool to see a SSJ docked at terminal 'D'), but I have not heard of any other carrier from that region showing an interest in IAH, not even COPA, and they are adding US destinations at a fairly good clip.

yellowtail · Mon Feb 03, 2014 3:10 pm

Quoting thomasphoto60 (Reply 6):
However with UA's (and CO before that) huge presence from IAH into Latin America, I suspect that few operators from that region would want to tangle with United.

Doesn't stop them in MIA and AA is even larger than UA. Surely with TAMs FF base in Brazil, especially the business folks, they could do well to IAH.

Quoting thomasphoto60 (Reply 6):
I have not heard of any other carrier from that region showing an interest in IAH, not even COPA,

Well CM has that handshake with UA…..but perhaps once HOU opens up we might see them there.

With the large dive market at IAH….and its diver friendly baggage policy, Insel should give IAH a shot.

thomasphoto60 · Mon Feb 03, 2014 3:22 pm

Quoting yellowtail (Reply 7):
Doesn't stop them in MIA and AA is even larger than UA. Surely with TAMs FF base in Brazil, especially the business folks, they could do well to IAH.

Sadly (or fortunately depending upon your views of Miami), we are not MIA, we for the most part do not attract the leisure traffic in addition to the biz traffic that MIA sees (granted many from Mexico love the Galleria, but that's pretty much it). While I do agree and share you views on this, I am going to defer to those that know the market best and can best explain why the lack of interest from Latin carriers.

IrishAyes · Mon Feb 03, 2014 3:22 pm

Surprised that this happened now rather than in 2005-2008 when CO was in SkyTeam and it made far more sense for KE to come to IAH. Nevertheless annoyed that this is starting at the expense of DFW going down to 5-weekly.

I don't really see what value-add Houston brings to the table for KE. Of all the major Asian network carriers, it is by far the largest in North America as-is, not to mention it's now sending A380's to three North American markets.

Overall, KE's network strategy to me is just very all-over-the-place. They announce LAX-LIM, which never materializes, yet decide to boost LAX-GRU from 3w to 5w just when AA adds a daily LAXGRU service. Then they retreat from DFW and add IAH. They send the A380 to ATL then have to reduce from 10w to 7w. The NBO station is questionable. They have an icy relationship with DL and SkyTeam across the Pacific. I just don't really understand it.

Quoting hohd (Reply 2):
This will compete with Air China's 4 times a week flight for connections to China and also connections throughput East Asia including India.

Not India. Korean only serves BOM from ICN, and the timings for IAH to/BOM via ICN either suck or offer long layovers. This is the ICNBOM schedule

ICN 1840 BOM 0040+1 x2467
BOM 0230 ICN 1310 x1357

Quoting yellowtail (Reply 4):
I ma 100% sure TAM could fill a 332 to GRU or GIG from IAH even with UA in the market.

GRU definitely not. In an ideal world, JJ *should* try and have a go at IAHGIG to get a slice of the oil traffic, but it seems like TAM increasingly wants to focus long-haul traffic out of GRU rather than GIG.

Quoting yellowtail (Reply 4):
IMHO, this is going to hurt SQ and will surely peel off the traffic going to Vietnam that SQ seemed to own. Why go 2 stop to SGN when you could do it in one?

This is bottom-barrel feeding traffic that is comprised entirely of VFR. SQ cares about filling the front-end of the cabin, particularly on the IAHDME sector. That will not be impacted by the entrance of KE.

thomasphoto60 · Mon Feb 03, 2014 3:43 pm

Quoting irishayes (Reply 9):
Nevertheless annoyed that this is starting at the expense of DFW going down to 5-weekly.

We felt the same when EK dumped their AM flight for you folks up there.

Quoting irishayes (Reply 9):
Surprised that this happened now rather than in 2005-2008 when CO was in SkyTeam and it made far more sense for KE to come to IAH

Agree, frankly I was pulling for BR or the real longshot, NZ. That said, I am very happy to see KE at IAH, especially during the AM hours when 'D' is a ghostown.

[Edited 2014-02-03 07:44:05]

aznmadsci · Mon Feb 03, 2014 3:44 pm

KE will be a welcome addition to IAH, though I wish they were around during CO's Skyteam days. Their flights are timed around a quiet time at D/FIS.

Quoting yellowtail (Reply 4):
IMHO, this is going to hurt SQ and will surely peel off the traffic going to Vietnam that SQ seemed to own. Why go 2 stop to SGN when you could do it in one?

Yet doesn't the Vietnam and Philippines traffic consists of mostly VFR traffic and it depends mainly on price. I really do not see much traffic loss for SQ, especially in the premium cabins.

Quoting 102IAHexpress (Reply 5):
Is Korean Air reducing DFW to 5 weekly?

On the source link it mentions the reduction at DFW to 5 weekly.

LAXdude1023 · Mon Feb 03, 2014 4:21 pm

First, congrats to our friends at IAH!

Quoting yellowtail (Reply 7):
Doesn't stop them in MIA and AA is even larger than UA. Surely with TAMs FF base in Brazil, especially the business folks, they could do well to IAH.

Come on man, you cannot compare MIA to IAH in terms of Latin American traffic. Houston is a very large market to Latin America at around 2,600 PDEW to the region, however that pales compared to MIA which generates over 14,000 PDEW to the region.

As for TAM at IAH, I dont think so. IAH-GIG is a large market and lucrative at that, but its still only 80 PDEW. With a UA 777 in the market, that is plenty. IAH-GRU is around 30 PDEW and doesnt have the yields.

Quoting 102IAHexpress (Reply 5):
Is Korean Air reducing DFW to 5 weekly?

Yes they are. They are also taking ATL-ICN from 10x weekly to 7x weekly. I guess that explains where the planes are coming from.

Quoting yellowtail (Reply 4):
IMHO, this is going to hurt SQ and will surely peel off the traffic going to Vietnam that SQ seemed to own. Why go 2 stop to SGN when you could do it in one?

This goes to my skepticism about this flight. Im confused as to what the target market is.

The way the flight is timed, you wont be able to make smooth connections to the oil destinations in Southeast Asia (sans Singapore itself) nor China on the return. Houston is not home to a very large Korean community and there arent that many ties between South Texas and Korea.

My prediction is that KE will become the unofficial ethnic VFR airline of Houston the way it has for Dallas.

HeeseokKoo · Mon Feb 03, 2014 4:41 pm

Quoting hohd (Reply 2):

Just like KE's IAD route, KE will do fine without any feed out of IAH just like IAD-ICN. KE itself has strong network out of ICN. IAH schedule work for most southeast Asia.

Quoting LAXdude1023 (Reply 12):
They are also taking ATL-ICN from 10x weekly to 7x weekly. I guess that explains where the planes are coming from.

Weirdly, KE re-uploaded 3x ATL route again although those 3x is blocked yet. IAH route isn't accepting reservations, either. KE has lots of vacant planes, by the way. Only 77W is fully rotated at this moment while 380 and 772 are loosely utilized. Many 747s are just sitting there and doing one short-haul run a day.

LAXdude1023 · Mon Feb 03, 2014 4:54 pm

Quoting HeeseokKoo (Reply 13):
Just like KE's IAD route, KE will do fine without any feed out of IAH just like IAD-ICN. KE itself has strong network out of ICN. IAH schedule work for most southeast Asia.

The biggest difference is that IAD-ICN is a very large local market by itself. IAH-ICN isnt so much.

yellowtail · Mon Feb 03, 2014 5:00 pm

Quoting thomasphoto60 (Reply 8):
Sadly (or fortunately depending upon your views of Miami), we are not MIA, we for the most part do not attract the leisure traffic in addition to the biz traffic that MIA sees

This is changing rapidly. I know quite a few folks that have sold their residences in Doral and Aventura and bought in Sugarland and Galleria area. I have been travelling to Houston many times a year for 30 years and the shifts occurring there stagger me. Perhaps a resident you don't see it as much.

Quoting thomasphoto60 (Reply 8):
the lack of interest from Latin carriers.

same could be said a few years ago from asian carriers. All it took was SQ to wake everyone uo.

Quoting irishayes (Reply 9):
SQ cares about filling the front-end of the cabin, particularly on the IAHDME sector. That will not be impacted by the entrance of KE.

Agreed. but the Y "gravy" at the back was nice pure profit in a relatively empty section of the plane.

LAXdude1023 · Mon Feb 03, 2014 5:06 pm

Quoting yellowtail (Reply 15):
This is changing rapidly. I know quite a few folks that have sold their residences in Doral and Aventura and bought in Sugarland and Galleria area. I have been travelling to Houston many times a year for 30 years and the shifts occurring there stagger me. Perhaps a resident you don't see it as much.

Not rapidly enough. Houston is not Miami when it comes to Latin American O&D. It has less than 20% of the Latin American O&D that Miami has. MIA-Latin America is still growing faster than IAH-Latin America.

We will both be dead by the time Houston catches up to Miami.

HeeseokKoo · Mon Feb 03, 2014 5:24 pm

Quoting LAXdude1023 (Reply 14):
The biggest difference is that IAD-ICN is a very large local market by itself. IAH-ICN isnt so much.

Isn't so much yet. Koreans in Houston-area hope that nonstop will create more O&D. Many Koreans around Dallas area drive 3-5 hours to DFW and catch the flight and some of them will now drive to IAH depending on the price or the day.

Quoting LAXdude1023 (Reply 12):
My prediction is that KE will become the unofficial ethnic VFR airline of Houston the way it has for Dallas.

Interesting description. In fact, all KE flights from the US are like that, except for peak seasons probably.

LAXdude1023 · Mon Feb 03, 2014 5:35 pm

Quoting HeeseokKoo (Reply 17):
Isn't so much yet. Koreans in Houston-area hope that nonstop will create more O&D. Many Koreans around Dallas area drive 3-5 hours to DFW and catch the flight and some of them will now drive to IAH depending on the price or the day.

But again, the Korean population in the Dallas area is three times larger than the Korean population in the Houston area. I doubt there are going to be many Koreans living in Dallas that will drive to Houston. The new flight could attact Koreans in Austin as the Korean community in Austin is almost as large as it is in Houston.

yellowtail · Mon Feb 03, 2014 5:52 pm

Quoting HeeseokKoo (Reply 17):
Isn't so much yet. Koreans in Houston-area hope that nonstop will create more O&D. Many Koreans around Dallas area drive 3-5 hours to DFW and catch the flight and some of them will now drive to IAH depending on the price or the day.

Well if that is the case, we hope KE has not taken one (DFW) profitable flight and made it two unprofitable one by splitting loads.

hoons90 · Mon Feb 03, 2014 6:01 pm

Yes, it is a bit of a strange and unexpected add, just like NBO was. NBO barely seems to be hanging on with the help of cargo.

Korean Air isn't government owned (and hasn't been for over 45 years!), yet sometimes their network planning makes you think otherwise...

Nevertheless, congratulations to Houston and KE!

dfwjim1 · Mon Feb 03, 2014 6:05 pm

Having lived in Dallas for 13 years and with a wife from Brazil, I can confidently say that Dallas, Houston, and Texas as a
whole are not tourist destinations for South American residents. South Americans really like to travel to NYC, South Florida,
California and Boston; Texas is just not on the radar for them as a vacation destination. In fact I would venture to say that
Texas receives very little international tourism and is really a regional tourist destination for surrounding states.

This is not a knock on Texas as I lived there for 13 years and enjoyed it but it is reality.

flyenthu · Mon Feb 03, 2014 6:31 pm

Very happy for IAH! Love to see all the international birds there late afternoon through the evening when I fly out from there.

I agree with dfwjim as well. TX is not an international tourist pull as NYC, Miami, Calif etc.

Quoting dfwjim1 (Reply 21):
I can confidently say that Dallas, Houston, and Texas as a
whole are not tourist destinations for South American residents

I live in Austin which has a strong domestic tourist component. With F1 it can change. BA is starting a service to Austin from March from LHR. I see a strong tourist draw to San ANtonio from Central America. May be we can boost the TX Gulf Coast.

747megatop · Mon Feb 03, 2014 6:44 pm

Quoting dfwjim1 (Reply 21):
South Americans really like to travel to NYC, South Florida,
California and Boston; Texas is just not on the radar for them as a vacation destination. In fact I would venture to say that
Texas receives very little international tourism and is really a regional tourist destination for surrounding states.

This is not a knock on Texas as I lived there for 13 years and enjoyed it but it is reality.

NYC, DC area ,California and Florida are primarily the destinations for international tourism. After that maybe Boston & Chicago. Rest of the country is pretty much off the map for international tourism and this is not just for South Americans visiting the country, it applies to others as well.

IAHWorldflyer · Mon Feb 03, 2014 7:06 pm

I was thinking that since KE does not serve MEX, they could use Skyteam partner AM to connect people through IAH to ICN. However, AM's first MEX-IAH flight of the day doesn't land in Houston until 10:10am, so too short a time for connections. Perhaps they could lean on AM to move the flight up to an earlier time.
There seems to be a large Korean population in MEX, particularly around Zona Rosa and Cuahtemoc areas. I'd imagine Koreans from Mexico City doing VFR flights back home presently travel through LAX?

yellowtail · Mon Feb 03, 2014 7:16 pm

Quoting dfwjim1 (Reply 21):
Texas receives very little international tourism and is really a regional tourist destination for surrounding states.

You are right but the diaspora's are growing quickly.

EddieDude · Mon Feb 03, 2014 7:17 pm

Quoting iahworldflyer (Reply 24):
AM to connect people through IAH to ICN. However, AM's first MEX-IAH flight of the day doesn't land in Houston until 10:10am, so too short a time for connections. Perhaps they could lean on AM to move the flight up to an earlier time.

I am sure AM already funnels pax to KE at LAX and JFK... and to a lesser extent at SFO, ORD and DFW, and vice versa.

Quoting iahworldflyer (Reply 24):
There seems to be a large Korean population in MEX, particularly around Zona Rosa and Cuahtemoc areas. I'd imagine Koreans from Mexico City doing VFR flights back home presently travel through LAX?

I don't think there are statistics regarding the travel patterns of these expats, because it is likely a very small colony and in some cases it must be second- and third-generation.

a380787 · Mon Feb 03, 2014 7:39 pm

IAH is also getting a good growth in Asian routes

went from 1x NRT to 2x NRT UA + 1x PEK CA + 1x ICN KE (plus that 1-stop IAH-DME-SIN service on SQ)

toxtethogrady · Mon Feb 03, 2014 8:41 pm

Quoting yellowtail (Reply 7):
Ironically given Latin America's geographic proximity to Texas, one would think that IAH's ramps would be teeming with Latin carriers. However with UA's (and CO before that) huge presence from IAH into Latin America, I suspect that few operators from that region would want to tangle with United.

That's exactly it. UA has long had an arrangement with Copa that kept them out of Houston, and United has managed to keep most of the Mexican carriers away from their hub.

Funny how news of this route has not shown up in either the Chronicle nor the HBJ nor the HAS website. They need to get on the stick.

hohd · Mon Feb 03, 2014 8:58 pm

If KE thinks it can operate profitably, I am sure CX can also. A 4 times a week to IAH would not be out of the question, especially since UA has no current plans to serve Hong Kong, although it would a great route for 787.

The reason DFW will be 5 times a week, could be based on the Emirates experience. EK was noticing lot of traffic from DFW area to its IAH flights and decided to fly to DFW, plus the fact it has a large population from India. May be KE is seeing the same on its DFW flights. However unlike EK, they are increasing the flights from current 7 to 9 flights a week to Texas.

thomasphoto60 · Mon Feb 03, 2014 9:39 pm

I find it interesting that there has yet to be an official announcement from either KE, HAS or both and it is almost 4PM local.

Quoting 747megatop (Reply 23):

NYC, DC area ,California and Florida are primarily the destinations for international tourism. After that maybe Boston & Chicago. Rest of the country is pretty much off the map for international tourism and this is not just for South Americans visiting the country, it applies to others as well.

Quoting dfwjim1 (Reply 21):
Having lived in Dallas for 13 years and with a wife from Brazil, I can confidently say that Dallas, Houston, and Texas as a
whole are not tourist destinations for South American residents. South Americans really like to travel to NYC, South Florida,
California and Boston; Texas is just not on the radar for them as a vacation destination. In fact I would venture to say that
Texas receives very little international tourism and is really a regional tourist destination for surrounding states.

This is not a knock on Texas as I lived there for 13 years and enjoyed it but it is reality.

You know the above comments are pretty much spot on. I use to bemoan the fact that few were interested in Texas, however over the past 2 years as I have been hitting the highways and backroads photographing and exploring my adopted state (Minnesota native) of Texas, what an eye-opening experience. While we do indeed see few "international tourists" the few that I have run across in my travels, tend to be of a different caliber from the average tourist that will visit the likes of LA, NYC, LAS, Florida ect.....hell, I don't really call them tourists, rather travelers, as they are very interested in the state and made an effort to get here. At the end of the day, I have come to the conclusion that I am fine with the fact Texas has a small draw with regards to tourism (int'l or otherwise). I like the fact that Big Bend is the least visited US National Park, due to it's isolation (6 hour drive from ELP and 5 hours from MAF), makes it all the more interesting and special, same could be said for Guadalupe Nat'l Park and Palo Duro Canyon.

Bottom line, we will never be able to compete with the likes of Calif, Florida, Hawaii, ect......nor should we try, We are what we are and once again, I am fine with that. If folks find us too boring, too rural, the weather too hot, that's fine...more for us to enjoy without having to deal with all the more negative aspects of mass tourism...

[Edited 2014-02-03 13:46:26]

[Edited 2014-02-03 13:47:12]

BoeingGuy · Mon Feb 03, 2014 10:20 pm

I was speculated that KE is also going to start SJC. Is there any new information on that?

MIflyer12 · Mon Feb 03, 2014 10:32 pm

Quoting thomasphoto60 (Reply 30):
I like the fact that Big Bend is the least visited US National Park, due to it's isolation

It isn't, not by a long shot. Big Bend NP gets more than 10x the visitors of some of the least visited U.S. NPs.

http://www.nps.gov/bibe/parkmgmt/visit_stats.htm

It isn't even the least-visited in the U.S.-48; data from 2007 in this quick summary.

http://www.esquire.com/features/trav...l/national-parks-124040809#slide-1

[Edited 2014-02-03 14:43:16]

psa1011 · Mon Feb 03, 2014 10:40 pm

Quoting BoeingGuy (Reply 31):
I was speculated that KE is also going to start SJC. Is there any new information on that?

I would love to see that happen. KE could codeshare with AS, and maybe AS would finally add some routes.

thomasphoto60 · Mon Feb 03, 2014 10:48 pm

Quoting MIflyer12 (Reply 32):

It isn't, not by a long shot. Big Bend NP gets more than 10x the visitors of some of the least visited U.S. NPs.

http://www.nps.gov/bibe/parkmgmt/visit_stats.htm

It isn't even the least-visited in the U.S.-48; data from 2007 in this quick summary.

http://www.esquire.com/features/trav...l/national-parks-124040809#slide-1

[Edited 2014-02-03 14:43:16]

Interesting I was told by Park Rangers that it was the least visited (lower 48) US National Park last year, oh well, I stand corrected.

CODCAIAH · Mon Feb 03, 2014 11:22 pm

Quoting thomasphoto60 (Reply 30):
I find it interesting that there has yet to be an official announcement from either KE, HAS or both and it is almost 4PM local.

Finally, a mention in the Houston Business Journal from today at 2:53pm CST.
http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/n...y-to-launch-new-houston-seoul.html

Tdan · Mon Feb 03, 2014 11:54 pm

Happy to finally see it loaded. Wish it was BR or OZ, but KE will be a welcome addition to IAH. Hopefully they are successful if nothing else than to prove LAXdude wrong about the viability of IAH-ICN! We'll see how well KE does in the market. Hopefully better than CI, but I'm willing to bet not as well as CA.

iah59 · Tue Feb 04, 2014 12:32 am

Delta airilnes can also feed traffic through IAH as well through Korean Air.

LAXdude1023 · Tue Feb 04, 2014 2:34 am

Quoting iahworldflyer (Reply 24):
There seems to be a large Korean population in MEX

Meh, its around 30,000 of which a small number are foreign born.

Quoting Tdan (Reply 36):
if nothing else than to prove LAXdude wrong about the viability of IAH-ICN!

Hehe, we will see.

Its probably going to be the VFR airline of Houston which is (sadly) what its become in Dallas. I think the catalyst for the new service is probably AA starting DFW-ICN. Because the market from Texas to Korea is skewed on the Texas side, AA seems to be carving out the high yielding stuff from DFW and AUS.

I don't know that, now, neither DFW-ICN nor IAH-ICN are going to be barn burners if you catch my drift. However, I think they will both stick on KE.

DTWLAX · Tue Feb 04, 2014 2:52 am

Quoting hohd (Reply 2):
This will compete with Air China's 4 times a week flight for connections to China and also connections throughput East Asia including India.

Definitely not India. It is longer than via Europe.

IAH-ICN-BOM is 10515 miles
IAH-FRA-BOM is 9318 miles

Quoting irishayes (Reply 9):
Not India. Korean only serves BOM from ICN, and the timings for IAH to/BOM via ICN either suck or offer long layovers. This is the ICNBOM schedule

ICN 1840 BOM 0040+1 x2467
BOM 0230 ICN 1310 x1357

Correct. You will need an overnight stay at ICN if you are flying BOM to IAH.

TWA772LR · Tue Feb 04, 2014 3:29 am

Quoting hohd (Reply 29):
UA has no current plans to serve Hong Kong, although it would a great route for 787

IMO, UA is missing out. Everyone knows they are making SFO their Pacific gateway, but with a plane like the 787, they are missing put on other Pacific markets like IAH-China, EWR-ICN and others.

iah59 · Tue Feb 04, 2014 3:41 am

I bet Korean Air wanted to fly in during peak hours at IAH but no space available. I wonder whats the news on Terminal D expansion or building a whole new terminal?

HeeseokKoo · Tue Feb 04, 2014 3:56 am

Quoting LAXdude1023 (Reply 18):
The new flight could attact Koreans in Austin as the Korean community in Austin is almost as large as it is in Houston.

With formal and legal counts, Austin is the same size with Houston, but if you include illegal ones, Houston is 3 times larger, at least. Although, that's only 40% of Dallas area.

Quoting iah59 (Reply 37):
Delta airilnes can also feed traffic through IAH as well through Korean Air.

They don't combine fares anymore.

Quoting iah59 (Reply 41):
I bet Korean Air wanted to fly in during peak hours at IAH but no space available.

KE's schedule is very similar to KE's other eastern and southern US routes, and it happens to be when IAH terminal D isn't full at all. KE got what it wants.

AVENSAB727 · Tue Feb 04, 2014 4:00 am

Quoting TWA772LR (Reply 40):

we can only wait and see, maybe UA is planning them while we speak, who knows..

a380787 · Tue Feb 04, 2014 4:11 am

Quoting TWA772LR (Reply 40):
IMO, UA is missing out. Everyone knows they are making SFO their Pacific gateway, but with a plane like the 787, they are missing put on other Pacific markets like IAH-China, EWR-ICN and others.

at least some part of Asia is getting 787 love

SFO-CTU launched - first US carrier to CTU

DEN-NRT launched - first Asian flight from DEN

LAX-NRT and LAX-PVG rightsized, esp the latter that is in fare war with AA

hoons90 · Tue Feb 04, 2014 4:47 am

Quoting TWA772LR (Reply 40):

IMO, UA is missing out. Everyone knows they are making SFO their Pacific gateway, but with a plane like the 787, they are missing put on other Pacific markets like IAH-China, EWR-ICN and others.

Quoting AVENSAB727 (Reply 43):
we can only wait and see, maybe UA is planning them while we speak, who knows..

UA has been downsizing ICN lately. Now that KE is starting IAH-ICN, I highly doubt that UA will. NYC-ICN and ORD-ICN already have two airlines on it, both of which are very well established in those markets. I don't really see any possible routes that UA could add to ICN.

UA's focus is (understandably) on China. It's a much bigger market than Korea is.

[Edited 2014-02-03 21:15:07]

tmoney · Tue Feb 04, 2014 5:10 am

Quoting a380787 (Reply 27):
IAH is also getting a good growth in Asian routes

went from 1x NRT to 2x NRT UA + 1x PEK CA + 1x ICN KE (plus that 1-stop IAH-DME-SIN service on SQ)

I feel like ya'll are forgetting to mention the ME3+1 carriers. Call it barrel feeding or whatevs but I just did rt IAH-DOH-RGN with QR on Y. Hella shorter flight (only 1 stop!) compared to SQ's 2 hops and cheaper than transiting (and having to fly UA metal ... ugh!!) thru NRT on NH.

KE coming to IAH will be a great 1 stop alternative to folks like me connecting onto medium-smaller Asia/SEAsia cities on Y, who's had enough of using oh-so-cheap-these-days ME3s. And I ain't just about to fly CA. No, not their Y. Fo-rizzles.

[Edited 2014-02-03 21:15:34]

Homobohemicus · Tue Feb 04, 2014 9:01 am

Quoting DTWLAX (Reply 39):

I know I'll be stoned for this, but since PRG airport is and would be utilized for KE's needs for European flights (Everything is written in Korean in PRG airport already

.

With 8x weekly and expected increase in capacity, KE could perhaps route ICN-XXX-GRU through Prague. KE has been ignoring FRA in favor of PRG since they bought their stake in OK.

As mentioned, yes... Routing this flight through Europe is much shorter!

I know its Sci-fi but seeing a very healthy route between PRG and ICN with 8x weekly flights and 747 all summers could be complemented by some of KE's aspirations towards that part of South America and the ability of further grasp more "passengers" along the way!

Now I'll wake up and smell the fumes.... But I have to admit that stranger things have happened!

[Edited 2014-02-04 01:03:34]

justloveplanes · Tue Feb 04, 2014 9:02 am

Quoting iah59 (Reply 37):
Delta airilnes can also feed traffic through IAH as well through Korean Air.

I think so, for Asia bound travelers on Skyteam, there is now an alternative to Star Alliance / UA. Still not great for US travel, though. This is a 788 route eventually for KE (not sure if they've bought any).

BA0197 · Tue Feb 04, 2014 3:16 pm

When will IAH do something about terminal D? Everyone on this forum has predicted it for years. It is run down American airport terminal that needs expanding and modernizing.

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