Korea's Busan grows regional LCC services while waiting for long-haul flights. Can Seoul share?

Managing dual hubs is typically a challenge. Chinese carriers try to squeeze into each other's hubs, Japan Airlines has such a limited presence outside the capital some joke it should be called Tokyo Airlines while Lufthansa's preference for Frankfurt sees a reduced size at Munich and no long-haul services from other cities such as Berlin.

In Korea the opportunity has effectively been taken away, with the government restricting long-haul services from the second largest city in order to boost its flagship Seoul Incheon hub at a time Asian countries - Northeast Asia in particularly - are undertaking rapid long-haul growth.

Changes with the US and Netherlands could produce Busan's first long-haul service since Lufthansa ended a quasi-long-haul link to Busan (tagged with Seoul Incheon). But it is regional services that hold the most opportunity for Busan; 74% of international seat capacity is within Northeast Asia. The LCC sector especially holds growth, with Busan seeing over half of international seats flown by LCCs, largely due to local carrier Air Busan.