SEOUL, South Korea, May 3, 2012 - Korean Air, South Korea’s
flagship airline, announced today its quarterly results for the first three
months of 2012, ended March 31, 2012.
The airline posted operating revenue of
2,880.2 billion KRW for the first quarter of 2012, up 5.9% compared to the same
period last year. However, due to a surge in jet fuel expenses, the airline
reported operating loss at 114.7 billion KRW, and a net loss is resulted during
the period. International passenger and cargo businesses remained the major
revenue contributors for the airline in Q1, accounting for 57.7% and 27.1% of
the operating revenue respectively.
International Passenger Business
The
airline posted overall respective growths of 12.6% and 9.7% with regard to
international passenger capacity and traffic compared to the corresponding
period of the previous year, reaching 21,114 million ASK and 15,989 million
RPK, respectively. Compared to the same period last year, it saw increased
traffic across all routes, including Oceania (up 23%), South-east Asian
countries (up 18%), and China (up 14%). While Korea outbound traffic maintained
at last year’s level, overseas outbound reported an increase of 16%.
As global
economy recovers, Korea outbound is expected to show gradual increase. Looking
onward, the airline strives to stabilize the business against high and surging
fuel price through capacity control and fleet redeployment. In addition, with
the introduction of new routes (Incheon – Gatwick and Incheon – Nairobi) and
stepping up frequency on selected routes, such as Incheon – Ulaanbaatar,
Incheon – Da Nang, Incheon – Tianjin, Incheon – Vancouver, Busan – Beijing and
etc., the airline sees potential growth in passenger traffic.
Cargo Business
Cargo
traffic recorded a year-on-year fall of 9.6% to 2,059 million FTK as it saw a
Y-o-Y decrease of 12% and 9% in Korea outbound traffic and transit traffic
respectively; a decrease in outbound cargo traffic across all routes is
reported. As many China-based airlines have been drastically stepping up cargo
capacity, the airline is facing increasingly intense competition in China
market.
With
the Free Trade Agreement between US and Korea and London Olympics, the outlook
for potential growth in passenger traffic in the remaining quarters of the year
remains positive. The airline will also strengthen profitability through route
operation plan, and will continue to seek sustainable growth in the existing
network as well as expanding into new markets.
Korean
Air will continue to expand its business prudently while enhancing the quality
of its service in 2012. With its long-standing commitment to achieving
“Excellence in Flight”, Korean Air aims to provide the best quality to its
customers while bringing the best returns to its shareholders.
*
Exchange rate on March 31, 2012: 1 US Dollar = [1,137.8] KRW
About Korean Air
Korean Air, with a fleet of 145 aircraft, is one of
the world's top 20 airlines, and operates almost 400 flights per day to 119
cities in 40 countries. It is a founding member of the SkyTeam alliance, which
together with its 15 members, offers its 487 million annual passengers a
worldwide system of more than 14,500 daily flights covering 926 destinations in
173 countries.
In 2011, Business Traveler named Korean Air the best
Asian airline for the fifth consecutive year, while Global Traveler awarded the
airline with best airline in northern Asia and best airport staff/gate agent.
The carrier won the 2010 global travel catering distinction award by Pax
International magazine while World Traveler magazine rated it as having the
world’s best inflight service. Travel & Leisure magazine readers say it is
one of the world’s top 10 international airlines and readers of Conde Nast
Traveler magazine voted Korean Air one of the world’s top ten global airlines.
More on Korean Air's programmes, routes, frequencies
and partners is available at www.koreanair.com.
