Amid Air Traffic Chaos... Asiana "Improving Performance by Strengthening Cargo Capacity"

Asiana Airlines announced that it will strengthen its cargo supply capacity by modifying A350 and B777 passenger aircraft, as airport officials loaded air cargo on the afternoon of the 24th. Photo by Airport Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Yu Je-hoon] Asiana Airlines continues to defend its performance this year by strengthening its cargo transportation capabilities. While passenger demand has sharply declined since the COVID-19 pandemic, air cargo demand has significantly increased, becoming a new source of revenue, and the airline plans to focus its capabilities accordingly.

According to Asiana Airlines on the 8th, the recent use of dedicated pallets (steel panels for cargo loading) has enabled the utilization of previously unused cargo loading space, allowing the transport of up to 8 tons of additional cargo per round trip per aircraft.

In fact, Asiana Airlines secured approximately 135 tons of additional cargo transport in the first quarter by utilizing the loading space of Boeing B747 freighters, with revenue from this aircraft type increasing by 117% compared to the same period last year.

Since last year, converting passenger planes into freighters or using the cargo holds of passenger planes as 'cargo-only passenger aircraft' has also shown results. From last year through this year, Asiana Airlines converted four A350 passenger aircraft into freighters, generating additional revenue of about 20 billion KRW in the first quarter alone. The converted A350s have a transport capacity of 46 tons per round trip and were deployed on over 120 flights in the first quarter.

Cargo-only passenger aircraft utilizing passenger plane cargo holds have also achieved considerable results. On routes with high cargo demand such as North America and Europe, the volume of IT and electronic device components, e-commerce export goods, and personal protective equipment loaded increased, resulting in first-quarter revenues on these routes rising by 112% and 82% respectively compared to the previous year. The total cargo transported using passenger aircraft reached 35,000 tons.

Recently, Asiana Airlines has also been focusing on transporting special cargo. Last year, it became the first in Korea to transport COVID-19 vaccines requiring cold chain logistics for cryogenic, frozen, and refrigerated transport, and on the 1st, it transported 55,000 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, the first to be introduced domestically, on flight OZ588.

Transporting fresh products is also a lucrative revenue source. In the first half of the year, Asiana Airlines transported 7,000 tons of eggs and plans to transport 5,000 tons of cherries by August. Additionally, Asiana Airlines plans to showcase differentiated expertise in transporting various special cargo such as pharmaceuticals and animals.

An Asiana Airlines official stated, "As COVID-19 prolongs, cargo operations have played a breakthrough role," adding, "We will continue to improve performance by strengthening cargo transportation capabilities to meet the increased demand for air cargo."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.