Korean Airlines plans to increase the number of air routes to China to 50 within five years, a company official has said.

Deputy General Manager of the Korean Airlines' Shanghai branch C. S. Kim made the remarks at the World Travel Fair 2006 which opened here Thursday.

The Chinese market has contributed to the smooth development of the company, which reported a 15.6-percent year-on-year increase in business in China last year, said Kim.

Korean Airlines began flying to China in 1989 and currently has 30 routes to 21 Chinese cities and up to 126 flights in a week. It makes 70 flights weekly between Shanghai and the Republic of Korea, with an average occupancy of 78 percent.

The company will open its first new air routes to Guangzhou and Shenzhen in south China's Guangdong Province, Kim said.

The Korean Airlines with a fleet of 118 aircraft is one of the top 20 airline companies in the world, flying 400 flights to 90 cities in 31 countries daily.

(Xinhua News Agency April 3, 2006)