According to Chinese media, Asiana Airlines Inc, one of South Korea's two major airlines, will soon start operating an Airbus A320 aircraft purely for Chinese passengers.

Flights have been allocated the numbers 8989/8988 as the number eight means fortune in China. Starting from October 1, 2010 the flight will be operated four times per week: on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.

The carrier plans to operate the service on a daily basis at a later date so that Chinese passengers can take an express route to Cheju.

In August, the average load factor of the South Korean carrier's China flights(excluding Hong Kong) hit a record 83.6%, which is attributed to South Korea's new visa policies for Chinese visitors.

Based on the high load factor, the company said it expects to carry 24,000 Chinese passengers on by the end of this year.

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