New departures from Seoul
Korean Air launch services to Melbourne and Hiroshima, Jeju Air to Batam

New departures from Seoul
Korean Air to launch services to Melbourne and Hiroshima, Jeju Air to Batam
September 9th, 2026. Starting on December 18th, Korean Air will launch a short, seasonal service between Seoul and Melbourne, Australia. The route will run three times a week on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays until mid-March.
Flight number KE409 will depart from Seoul’s Incheon International Airport at 08:00 and will touch down in Melbourne at 20:30. The return trip, flight number KE410, will leave Melbourne at 22:00 and arrive back in Seoul at 07:35 the next morning.
A Boeing 787-9 has been earmarked for the journey, and the flight time is scheduled at ten and a half hours for the outbound flight, and about one hour longer for the return.
Seoul to Hiroshima
The airline also has a new route to Hiroshima, Japan, lined up. This service will take off on December 23rd and will operate daily.
Flight number KE2183 will depart from Incheon at 10:35 and will land in Hiroshima Airport at 12:15. The return leg, flight number KE2184, will leave Hiroshima at 13:25 and will land back in Seoul at 15:25.
The outbound flight will be one hour and forty minutes, and the return flight about two hours. An Airbus A321 Neo will operate the route.
Jeju Air flies to Batam
Also on December 23rd, Jeju Air will introduce a service linking Seoul with Batam, an Indonesian island just to the south of Singapore. Batam is an industrial boomtown and free trade zone that is also a popular weekend getaway for Singaporeans. The service will operate twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Flight number 7C2701 will depart from Seoul Incheon at 17:55 and arrive at Batam’s Hang Nadim International Airport at 23:05. The return journey, flight number 7C2702, will leave Batam at 00:05 on Sundays and Thursdays and arrive back in Seoul at 08:35.
A Boeing 737-800 will serve the route, and the journey time will be seven hours and ten minutes for the outbound trip, and six and a half hours for the return.
Picture: Melbourne skyline by David Iliff via Wikimedia Commons
Hotel suggestions
The Larwill Studio Melbourne
Daiwa Roynet Hotel Hiroshima
Batam View Beach Resort
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