ABSTRACT
The liberalisation of international air service agreements and the formation of global airline alliances have given rise to the growth of airline hub-and-spoke networks in Asia. One of the typical examples is the strategic network developments by South Korean air carriers, Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, in Northeast Asia, especially to Japan and China. In 2007, the Japanese and South Korean governments reached an open skies agreement for all airports except the most congested in Tokyo and Seoul. As a consequence, air carriers on both sides can freely develop their air networks and these two South Korean air carriers now send a number of their passengers travelling from Japan to their final destination via Incheon International Airport (Seoul/Incheon).
