Eastar Jet launches daily Hong Kong–Busan from 25 October 2026

Korean low-cost carrier Eastar Jet has started a new daily service between Hong Kong (HKG) and Busan Gimhae (PUS), with the first flight operating on 25 October 2026. It is Eastar Jet’s second Hong Kong route after Incheon–Hong Kong, and it adds another overnight nonstop option on a city pair that already sees HK Express and T’way Air.

The airline held a send-off at Gimhae on the evening of the 25th and a welcome for foreign passengers arriving from Hong Kong early on the 26th (with the Korea Tourism Organization’s Busan–Ulsan–Gyeongnam branch). Eastar Jet said the inaugural flights in both directions ran at about a 98% load factor, with foreign passengers making up around 83% of those on board — the kind of mix you would expect if the overnight timing is aimed at Hong Kong traffic heading into Busan.

The schedule (daily, local times)

PUS → HKG
ZE921: 21:30 → 00:10+1

HKG → PUS
ZE922: 02:00 → 06:30

Industry schedules filed the route on Boeing 737-800 metal. The Hong Kong departure is a classic overnight sector: leave Chek Lap Kok at 02:00 and land in Busan for the morning. Per Flight.info, ZE922’s Busan arrival is 06:30 through 1 December 2026; from 2 December 2026 through 28 March 2027 it becomes 07:05 — check the live booking for your date, as overnight LCCs do tweak block times.

How it sits vs other HKG–PUS options

Right now the nonstop market is three LCCs:

• HK Express (UO) — still the densest Hong Kong-side operator, with about one to two flights a day depending on the day (including a morning UO674 pattern and overnight UO604 on some days). Cathay Pacific sells codeshares on some of those UO flights; it is not a separate Cathay-operated Busan service.
• T’way Air (TW) — daily overnight TW640 out of Hong Kong around 02:00 on Boeing 737-800.
• Eastar Jet (ZE) — new daily ZE922 also at 02:00 HKG, so it sits in the same overnight window as T’way rather than competing head-on with HK Express’s daytime frequencies.

FlightsFrom’s HKG–PUS history lists Air Busan’s last scheduled service around 15 October 2026; that is schedule-aggregator history, not an airline PR confirmation of exit. Korean Air and the old Cathay Dragon nonstops are historical on this routing, not current own-metal options.

Fares

Launch-period promo fares were reported in September (including Korea-side one-way specials and Hong Kong travel-site round-trip “from” quotes for selected November–December dates), but those book-by windows have closed. I am not putting a stale HKD number in this post — check Eastar Jet or your usual engine for live prices, baggage rules and seat maps.

Overall: a useful extra daily overnight HKG–PUS flight on 737-800, second Hong Kong city for Eastar Jet after Incheon, and more choice in the same late-night departure bank as T’way. Schedules and aircraft subject to change — always confirm with the airline before you book.

Sources: AeroRoutes — EastarJet Busan–Hong Kong NW26; Asia Business Daily — launch / schedule / LF; Chosun Biz — Eastar Jet Co. daily Busan–Hong Kong; Herald Business — inaugural load factor; FlightsFrom — HKG–PUS operators. Schedules subject to change.