Which Are The Options For Direct Flights Between Seoul and Rome?

For the Seoul to Rome Schedule skip to here.

Having family in South Korea, I’ve become quite accustomed to travelling and booking flights between Rome and Seoul. So that’s exactly what we’ll be talking about in this article today: which airlines cover the direct route.

If possible I always prefer flying direct to my destination, unless the stopover is in one of my favourite airports. It might sound a bit wierd but I’m sure that all travel enthusiasts and avgeeks have a favourite airport. I will write another article soon about other connections from europe which also include stopovers. Often non direct flights are cheaper so if you’re on a tight budget this could be a good idea to start your ticket search.

Rome to Seoul Direct

So let’s go to the point, what are the options if you’re looking to fly from Rome to Seoul with no stop overs on your trip? At the moment there are 3 airlines offering direct connections between Rome Fiumicino Airport and Seoul Incheon International Airport: Alitalia, Korean Air and Asiana. The frequency of the connections varies across the seasons. During winter connections are reduced to 12 flights per week. People travel less in the cold season, so less flights are required. Korean Air also changes the aircraft type during winter. While in Summer they use a Boeing747-8during winter they connect Rome and Seoul with a 777-300.

Of the 12 winter weekly flights:

Korean Air offers 5 flights per week (Mon, Tue, Thu, Sat, Sun)
Asiana offers 4 flights per week (Tue, Thu, Sat, Sun)
Alitalia offers 2 to 4 flights per week (Varies Week To Week)

The Timing of The Flights

The Korean Air Flight departs Rome at 22:00 and arrives at 17:00 (Korean Time) the day after
The Alitalia Flight departs Rome at 15:05 and arrives at 10:25 (Korean Time) the day after
The Asiana Flight departs Rome at 18:40 and arrives at 14:10 (Korean Time) the day after

My opinion is that the best timed flight is the Korean Air one, as it arrives in the evening and you can get rid of the jetlag with more ease. The other two flight arrive earlier during the day which means you need to stay awake longer.

The Summer Rome Seoul Schedule

During the summer season as early as March/April the number of weekly flights increases significantly. With up to 18 flights per week you’ll certainly find the right combination in price and dates.

Korean Air operates a daily B747-8 service departing Rome at 21:25 and arriving in Seoul at 15:50 the day after
Asiana operates 4 flights a week (Tue, Thu, Sat, Sun) (and a daily only in the month of April) service B777 service departing Rome at 19:40 and arriving in Seoul at 13:55 the day after
Alitalia operates 4 times per week A330 service (Mon, Thu, Sat, Sun) departing Rome at 15:15 and arriving in Seoul at 09:40 the day after

Again even in the summer time, in my opinion the Korean Air service is the best timed one.

Seoul To Rome Direct

Now let’s look at the reverse trip, obviously the operators don’t change but the timing of the flights does. All we said about the Rome Seoul route applies to this route too, for obvious reasons, so we’ll dive directly into the timings of the flights.

The Winter Seoul To Rome Flight Schedule

Korean Air offers 5 flights per week (Mon, Tue, Thu, Sat, Sun)
Asiana offers 4 flights per week (Tue, Thu, Sat, Sun)
Alitalia offers 2 to 4 flights per week (Varies Week To Week)

The Winter Timings

The Korean Air Flight departs Rome at 15:10 and arrives at 19:35 (Korean Time) the day after
The Alitalia Flight departs Rome at 14:05 and arrives at 18:55 (Korean Time) the day after
The Asiana Flight departs Rome at 12:25 and arrives at 17:05 (Korean Time) the day after

For the same reasons as for the Rome to Seoul flight the best timed connections are the Korean Air and Alitalia flights which depart a very similar hour.

The Summer Seoul To Rome Flight Schedule

Korean Air operates a daily B747-8 service departing Seoul at 14:15 and arriving in Rome at 19:30 the day after
Asiana operates 4 flights a week (Tue, Thu, Sat, Sun) (and a daily only in the month of April) service B777 service departing Seoul at 12:30 and arriving in Rome at 17:50 the day after
Alitalia operates 4 times per week A330 service (Mon, Thu, Sat, Sun) departing Seoul at 13:55 and arriving in Rome at 19:05 the day after

In this case the quality of the timing is very similar across all the operators.

The Quality of the Service

I generally fly always Korean Air, I’m registered to their frequent flyier program and it works pretty well for me. But if you are deciding basing your decision on the service offered, these are my 2 cents. As far as catering service the airlines we talked about in this post are pretty much tied. Although you’ll have more Korean food options available on the 2 Korean carriers and more Italian food options on Alitalia.

As per the comfort of the aircraft used, I’d rank Korean Air first with their747-8service, the IFE is very good even for foreigners travelling with them. In second place Asiana and third Alitalia. The Italian airline’s IFE is a bit outdated so don’t get your expectations too hight about that part of the experience.

Flying Direct Between Rome and Seoul