August 29, 2007 -- Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, will be a step closer to South Korea when Korean Air begins flights to Incheon International Airport in September. Korean Air's new flight will build on the airlines' already impressive network of flights into China and improve access to one of central China's emerging transport hubs.

This new route will be the 22nd Chinese destination connected to Korean Air's Incheon hub near Seoul. In 2006, Korean Air added eight new routes to the mainland and named China its 'second home market'.

"Zhengzhou is one of the most important transportation hinges in China," a Korean Air spokesperson told Emerging China. "Henan Province is rich in natural landscape, history and cultural views. The new flight between Zhengzhou and Seoul will not only attract many Korean tourists to Henan Province, but also provide visitors near Henan Province a new convenient channel to Europe, America and Africa through Korean Air's wide flight network in the world."

"Korean Air plans to be one of the top 10 airlines in 2010, and China will be its largest market besides its local market [South Korea]. Korean Air aims to establish 30 branch offices and direct 35 flights in China in 2010," said the Korean Air spokesperson.

Zhengzhou, a third tier city with a population of 7.2 million, is rapidly attracting foreign investment. According to the Zhengzhou Bureau of Commerce, foreign direct investment for the first half of 2007 was US$740 million, a 74 percent increase over the first half of 2006. From 2000-2005, average annual GDP growth was 11.4 percent.

Zhengzhou Xinheng International Airport opened in 1997 as China's 21st international airport. Incheon will be Zhengzhou's third international destination after Bangkok and Hong Kong.

"We welcome each airline company to use our airport," a Zhengzhou Xinheng International Airport spokesperson told Emerging China. "The more [airlines] the better," he added.

"Zhengzhou is aiming to upgrade its role as a transport centre. The city is known as the heart of the China railway network, and is on the major north-south axis from Beijing to southern China, as well as on the main east-west axis (the new Silk Route)," states a Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) report. JLL reports that Zhengzhou is challenging Wuhan as a major transport hub because of its rail connections.

Korean Air's new Zhengzhou service takes advantage of the growing number of South Koreans visiting China. According to China's National Tourism Office, South Koreans were the second largest visitor group to China after Japan, excluding Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. In 2006, 3.9 million South Koreans visited China, a 10.7 percent increase over 2005, with 76.5 percent arriving by air.

In 2006, China was South Korea's biggest trading partner, with trade volume touching US$130 billion. South Korea is also China's second biggest source of foreign direct investment.

Korean Air will operate 188-seat Boeing 737-900s and 149-seat Boeing 737-800s on the thrice-weekly Incheon-Zhengzhou service.