“Load Factor at 83%”: Why Are Reservations Unavailable for Eastar Jet’s Tokushima Route to Japan?

【Financial News, Tokyo—Correspondent Hye-jin Seo】Yomiuri Shimbun reported on the 16th that tickets for Eastar Jet’s Incheon–Tokushima route, which has recorded a load factor of more than 80%, cannot be booked after January next year. While other Eastar Jet routes can be booked through March next year, the Tokushima route has no sales schedule beyond that point, raising questions about whether the service will continue.
According to Yomiuri Shimbun, as of the 15th of this month, tickets for the Incheon–Tokushima route could be booked on Eastar Jet’s website only through the end of December this year. All of Eastar Jet’s other routes, excluding Tokushima, can be booked through March next year.
Airlines typically finalize their winter schedules in August each year, covering operations from October through March of the following year, and begin selling tickets accordingly. However, Eastar Jet reportedly has not clearly explained to the prefectural authorities why reservations for the Tokushima route have not opened for dates after January next year.
Eastar Jet has operated scheduled round-trip flights three times a week between Incheon International Airport and Tokushima Awaodori Airport since December 2024.
Tokushima Prefecture allocated ¥239 million (approximately ₩21.1 billion) in its initial budget for this year to attract Korean tourists and expanded its operating-cost support for Eastar Jet in part. The Tokushima Prefecture Tourism Association also invited Korean university students and covered passport issuance fees for passengers using the Korean route.
With this support, the route’s load factor reached 83% from April through August, up 14 percentage points from 69% during the same period last year.
A Tokushima Prefecture Tourism Policy Division official said, “We cannot disclose specific details, but we are coordinating various matters,” adding, “Negotiations are not being conducted on the premise of an increase in subsidies.”


[email protected] Hye-jin Seo Reporter