Korean Air Will Fly Seoul to Newark Daily From 22 May 2027, Its First Newark Service Since 2001
A 22:00 night departure from Incheon on a 277-seat 777-300ER puts the SkyTeam carrier back in New Jersey against United and Air Premia, after more than two decades away.
Thursday, November 12, 2026/2 min read
Korean Air is going back to Newark. The airline will start a daily Seoul Incheon to Newark Liberty nonstop on 22 May 2027, ending a gap that stretches back to 2001, according to AeroRoutes, which carried the schedule filing late on 11 November.
The route will be flown with a Boeing 777-300ER, says One Mile at a Time, which counts 277 seats: 8 in first, 42 in business and 227 in economy. Aviation Week's daily route roundup logs it among the day's launches and notes that it complements the two daily Korean Air flights to New York JFK.
What is the Korean Air Newark schedule?
The published times are KE097 out of Incheon at 22:00, landing at Newark at 23:00 the same day, and KE098 leaving Newark at 01:00 and reaching Incheon at 05:15 the next morning. One Mile at a Time gives the distance as 6,896 miles, blocked at 14 hours westbound and 15 hours 15 minutes eastbound.
Those late-evening times matter in practice. A night departure from Seoul that lands in New Jersey an hour later on the clock means a traveller can leave after a working day in Korea and be in the New York area before midnight.
Why is this a return and not a launch?
Korean Air flew to Newark in the 1990s. AeroRoutes says it last served the airport until the fourth quarter of 2001, while One Mile at a Time dates the end to September 2001 and calls the new service technically a resumption. The two outlets differ on the exact month, so this article says only that the airline has been absent since 2001. The airline has since concentrated its New York flying at JFK.
Who else flies Seoul to Newark?
The market is no longer empty. According to Aviation Week, which cites OAG schedule data for the week of 9 November, United and Air Premia each fly the route daily. One Mile at a Time reports that Air Premia started it in May 2023 with a Boeing 787 and that United began in September 2026, also with a 787.
The same Aviation Week data puts total capacity between Seoul and the New York area at nearly 25,000 two-way seats a week, with Korean Air the largest operator at JFK on 9,576 seats and Asiana second on 7,464. Newark seats currently stand at 4,326 for Air Premia and 3,598 for United, so a 777-300ER with 277 seats each way daily would put Korean Air among the biggest players there from day one.
What should travellers know before booking?
Reservations are reported open for the 22 May start. Schedules for flights this far out can change, so check the airline's own booking page for fares and the final timetable. The airline has not, in the coverage reviewed here, published a launch fare, and none is quoted in this article.
The next markers to watch are the summer 2027 schedule filings from Korean Air and its rivals. If United and Air Premia respond on capacity or timing, the Newark corridor will be the one to watch among Seoul and New York routes next spring.
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