Korean Airlines to codeshare with Virgin Atlantic

Virgin Atlantic and Korean Air have agreed to codeshare between London Heathrow and Seoul Incheon from 25 March.

The carriers had earlier struck a deal to co-operate on the route, a move designed to ease competition fears arising from Korean's proposed takeover of Asiana Airlines, and which was instrumental in enabling UK competition regulators to approve the transaction earlier this month.

Korean and Asiana currently offer the only direct services between the UK and South Korea. British Airways withdrew from the market amid the pandemic.

Virgin Atlantic and Korean are also now part of SkyTeam, the UK carrier having joined the airline alliance earlier this month.

The first phase of the codeshare will allow customers booking through Virgin Atlantic the opportunity to travel directly to Incheon and, by June, connect onwards to Japan, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand.

"We're pleased to launch a codeshare with Korean Air, as we know such agreements bring an array of benefits to our customers," states Virgin Atlantic chief commercial officer Juha Jarvinen. "As one of Asia's major carriers, Virgin Atlantic customers can benefit from its extensive route network, that will offer more choice throughout Asia and Australasia."