Korean Air, Asiana log earnings surprises on cargo flights as global rivals record losses
Kang Kyung-min
Aug 07, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
Korean Air Lines Co. and Asiana Airlines Inc. have bucked the global trend of the devastating aviation industry and made rare quarterly profits, as they focused on cargo flights, defying the coronavirus travel slump.
Asiana Airlines Inc. on Friday joined its bigger local rival Korean Air Lines Co. to report an earnings surprise. In a regulatory filing, the country’s No. 2 carrier said it delivered an operating profit of 115.1 billion won ($96.9 million) in the second quarter, ending six straight quarters of losses. Sales fell 45% on year to 818.6 billion won.
“Increased cargo deliveries on long-haul routes to the U.S. and Europe helped offset a sharp decline in passenger travel demand,” said a company official.
On Thursday, Korean Air also surprised the market by posting a second-quarter operating profit of 148.5 billion won even though its sales shrank 44% from a year earlier.
The two Korean airlines marked the only major carriers among global airlines that have so far reported second-quarter results. They attributed their rare profits to increased cargo sales. Cargo revenues for both Korean Air and Asiana climbed 95% on year to 1.23 trillion won and 639.1 billion won, respectively.