Korean Air said Wednesday it would resume flights to Hawaii starting Nov. 3 while Hawaiian Airlines announced plans to expand flights on the route to four times a week. Korean Air’s operation on the route was suspended in April last year due to COVID-19. The Incheon-Honolulu KE053 flight will operate three days a week, departing from Incheon International Airport every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday night. The KE054 flight departing from Honolulu for Incheon will also operate on the same

South Korean low-cost carriers are preparing for a spike in international travel amid growing signs of travel confidence. Air Seoul, one of two budget airlines owned by Asiana Airlines, announced Tuesday it would resume flights between Incheon and Guam after a suspension of some 660 days. Flying twice a week starting late December, the airline said it marks the first air travel route to be resumed for tourists since the COVID-19 pandemic. The last flight to the US island territory by the airl

Rising fuel prices and a weak local currency are dampening the mood for South Korea’s aviation industry, which has pinned hopes for recovery on travel bubbles and the easing of social distancing rules. The jet fuel price stood at $94.60 per barrel, as of Oct. 8, up 5.8 percent compared to the previous week, according to the latest data from the International Air Transport Association. Averaging $73.90 per barrel this year, the price as of early this month was also up 17.5 percent compar

Porsche Korea just built an indoor playground in Seoul as part of its Porsche Dream Playground program. The carmaker said Thursday that it has completed construction of the playground on the premises of Seokgwan Elementary School in Seongbuk-gu, northern Seoul. Holger Gerrmann, CEO of Porsche Korea, and officials from the school and ChildFund Korea attended a ceremony on Wednesday to mark the project’s completion. Through its community outreach program, Porsche Dream Playground, the c

Private and public stakeholders in the development of self-driving cars have established the Korea Autonomous Industry Association on Wednesday in order to better prepare for the coming new mobility era. Some 30 government officials and company executives attended the launching ceremony held in Yeouido, Seoul, including Park Jin-kyu, the vice minister for industry, and Hwang Seong-kyu, the vice minister for transport. Aside from private firms, two state-run organizations -- the Korea Automot

For the proliferation of electric vehicles in South Korea, it is key to upgrade power systems installed at apartment buildings, the predominant type of housing in urban areas here, according to a recent study. Without significant improvement in residential buildings’ electricity capacity, the rush to install chargers at home parking spaces will entail blackout risks, the Korea Automotive Technology Institute said in its report published Tuesday. In August, the government said it would

Hyundai Motor is to open a self-driving technology test bed at its R&D Center to speed up development, the automaker said Tuesday. Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s biggest carmaker, said it has been setting up the infrastructure needed for researchers to try out different autonomous driving technologies at its Namyang R&D Center. Located in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, the Namyang center is the main research institute for Hyundai Motor Group’s automotive affiliates, Hyundai an

Preparing for the era of self-driving cars, South Korean auto parts manufacturer Hyundai Mobis has unveiled a steering wheel that can be folded while not in use. The affiliate of Hyundai Motor said Monday that it has succeeded in developing the foldable steering wheel system that maximizes drivers comfort by allowing more space. It took around 2 years for the company to successfully develop the entirely new technology that has never been globally commercialized before and the company is curr

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun on Thursday will mark his one-year anniversary since taking office at the South Korean automotive group. With the new chief at the helm, Hyundai Motor has embarked on a journey of transforming into a future smart mobility company. According to Hyundai officials on Monday, Chung, who inherited the top job from his father and now honorary group chairman Chung Mong-koo last year, has always emphasized that the future lies on resolving problems that peop

A Korean carmakers’ association has sent a letter to the US House of Representatives, asking it to reject a legislative bill to offer tax incentives for US-made electric vehicles, arguing the proposed plan could unfairly disadvantage foreign carmakers and limit customer choice. The Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association said Thursday the written letter, directed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Richard Neal, concerns the $4,500 tax incentive plan for American electric vehicles

Hyundai Motor’s little mini SUV, the Casper, is here, creating a buzz in the A-segment market, where the competition has long been dull. This new Casper is Hyundai’s first A-segment release in 19 years, and already it’s received record preorders. Even the president lined up to buy one. The Casper is slightly more expensive than its rivals the Chevrolet Spark and the Kia Ray, but there’s a reason for that. It comes with advanced driver assistance functions that are of

FTC says review to be complete by end of year

Ordering food and receiving it inside your car without reaching for a wallet is the latest fad in the auto industry. Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors last year introduced “Car Pay” which allows drivers to pay for gas and parking by tapping on a touchpad in their vehicles. It became a popular form of contactless payment as the pandemic drew on. Renault Samsung Motors unveiled an in-car payment system that can do more in its new XM3 SUV which hit showrooms in June. Passengers can order

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Tuesday it plans to complete its review within this year of a deal by Korean Air Lines Co., the country's biggest carrier, to buy the debt-ridden Asiana Airlines Inc. In a report to the National Assembly, the Korean Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) said it plans to speed up the review in consideration of the value that the deal has for the country's economy. In November 2020, Korean Air said it will acquire its smaller rival Asiana Airlines in a deal valued at

Global airlines on Monday projected a sharp reduction in industry losses next year as a multispeed recovery from the coronavirus crisis gets under way, but revised up the financial toll inflicted by the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. The International Air Transport Association, the industry's main trade body, predicted that net losses at airlines would narrow to $11.6 billion in 2022 from $51.8 billion this year.The losses for 2021 were revised up from $47.7 billion estimated in April. IATA also r