South Korea’s second largest full-service carrier Asiana Airlines Inc. will test out a direct flight from Incheon, Korea to Lisbon, Portugal for the first time among Korean carriers from October to March next year to gauge demand in the long-haul destination to the European country.

Its services to the capital city of Portugal will be available twice a week on Monday and Wednesday from Oct. 28 to Mar. 25 next year, the company said Tuesday.

The newest A350 aircraft will be deployed on the route to help convenient travel for passengers with its premium economy seats dubbed “Economy Smartium” with more space between seats, in-cabin wi-fi offer and roaming mobile service, it added.

Lisbon, the capital and the largest city of Portugal, is one of the oldest cities in the world and the second oldest capital city in Europe, full of must-see historic buildings and streets built hundreds of years ago with a wide variety of architectural styles.

With many tourist attractions including St. George`s Castle, Jerónimos Monastery, National Museum of Ancient Art, Belém Tower and Santa Justa Lift, Lisbon was crowned as the world’s leading city destination for three years in a row at the 2019 World Travel Awards.

Asiana Airlines expects the latest addition on the popular European route would help expand its market presence by offering more travel options to customers. Traveling both Lisbon and Barcelona also has become easier as the carrier has been offering its direct flying to the city of Spain since August last year.

Asiana Airlines is also planning to add more direct flights temporarily to Cairo, Egypt and Melbourne, Australia starting December to meet the growing travel demand.

By Noh Hyun and Lee Ha-yeon

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