Korean Air Achieves Record-High First-Quarter Revenue... Operating Profit Up 47%

Second Quarter Impact Unavoidable Due to High Oil Prices and Strong Dollar
"Focusing on Attracting Transfer Demand to Protect Profitability"

Korean Air recorded its highest-ever first-quarter revenue.

Due to the deteriorating external environment caused by the Middle East war, Korea's largest airline, Korean Air, and its affiliated low-cost carriers (LCCs) Jin Air, Air Busan, and Air Seoul have entered a company-wide emergency management system. On the 1st, a Korean Air passenger plane is waiting at the Incheon International Airport apron. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Korean Air announced on April 13 that its revenue for the first quarter of this year reached KRW 4.5151 trillion, up 14% from the same period last year, setting a new record for first-quarter sales. Operating profit was KRW 516.9 billion, a 47% increase from the previous year.

First-quarter passenger business revenue was KRW 2.6131 trillion, up KRW 177.6 billion year-on-year. Robust demand during the Lunar New Year holiday in February, as well as strong performance on European and major transfer routes, were the main drivers of these results.

During the same period, cargo business revenue reached KRW 1.0906 trillion, an increase of KRW 36.6 billion compared to the first quarter of the previous year. The company attributed the revenue growth to the continued expansion of fixed-volume contracts and flexible route operations, including the addition of charter and extra flights on high-demand North American routes.

However, the company expects that the second quarter results will inevitably be affected by the dual challenges of high oil prices and a strong US dollar due to the situation in the Middle East. A Korean Air official stated, "In preparation for stagnant demand originating from Korea, we will focus on attracting outbound and transfer demand from overseas to protect profitability. For the cargo business, we will strive to secure profitability by preemptively capturing seasonal cargo volumes, expanding demand from growth industries such as AI and K-beauty, and flexibly operating routes in response to changes in air cargo demand."

Korean Air recently switched to an emergency management system starting this month to cope with the surge in costs resulting from rising international oil prices, and is pursuing company-wide cost optimization by responding to oil price fluctuations in stages.

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