Korean Air Lines chairman awarded Excellence in Leadership Award from ATW

Walter Cho, Korean Air chairman and CEO [KOREAN AIR LINES]

Walter Cho, chairman and CEO of Korean Air Lines, was awarded the Excellence in Leadership Award by Air Transport World (ATW), a publication covering the global air transportation industry.

The annual award, established in 1974, is one of the most important in airline industry, according to Korean Air Lines on Wednesday.

“Since taking the helm at Korean Air Lines in 2019 [and] as chair of the SkyTeam global alliance board and a member of the IATA [International Air Transport Association] board of governors, Mr. Cho has emerged as an excellent leader at Korean Air and across the industry,” commented ATW.

“His nimble and out-the-box thinking, particularly with regard to airline partnerships — especially the transpacific joint venture with Delta Air Lines — and the company’s cargo business, made Korean Air stronger than ever through the worst times of the pandemic,” the publication added.

Korean Air Lines attained record high profits both in 2021 and 2022.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Cho made a decision to acquire Asiana Airlines, with expectations to become one of the world’s top 10 airlines once the acquisition was complete.

“The unprecedented pandemic crisis has proven the importance of connectivity, our industry’s core value,” said Cho through a press release Wednesday. “The entire Korean Air team, along with our partners, combined our efforts to maintain connectivity for both passengers and cargo, even when strict border controls were in place.

Korean Air was recognized for the past two years as ATW’s 2021 Airline of the Year and 2022 Cargo Operator of the Year. Cho has previously received awards such as FlightGlobal’s 2022 Air Cargo Leadership Award and Orient Aviation’s 2021 Person of the Year.

The awards ceremony will be held in Istanbul on June 2.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]