Korean Air Survived the Pandemic With No Losses But Faces New Challenges
Photo Credit: Korean Air achieved a revenue of $2.5 billion and an operating profit of $569.2 million in the second fiscal quarter. Visual Hunt / Clément Alloing - CAphotography
Skift Take
Korean Air enjoys the distinction of being the only global airline not to post any losses during the pandemic, thanks largely to its cargo operations. But if the carrier wants to continue that competitive advantage, South Korea needs to drop restrictions impacting passenger demand.
Around the world, the pandemic left the airline industry in the red. Korean Air’s flight path, however, has been very different as the only airline posting consistent profits, riding on the back of its robust cargo operations.
Despite continued high oil prices and volatile exchange rates, Korean Air achieved a revenue of $2.5 billion and an operating profit of $569.2 million in the second fiscal quarter that it announced this week.
Even though Korean Air posted an impressive $1.2 billion operating profit in 2021, the passenger business is still in fragile recovery. While passenger revenue started bouncing back earlier this year, it still accounts for only 14 percent of total revenue.
The slow recovery in passenger traffic is largely due to the fact that while Korea is relatively open compared to other North Asian countries it is not fully open like Southeast Asia.
Even prior to the pandemic, Korean Air already had one of the largest carg
