Asiana, Korean Air post record revenue as Koreans flock overseas

An Asiana Airlines aircraft taxis past a Korean Air plane on the runway at Incheon International Airport on Tuesday. [NEWS1]

Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, Korea's two largest carrier, both saw record revenue in 2023, driven by a resurgence in demand from international passengers, while profitability worsened.

Asiana Airlines reported a 16 percent increase in revenue compared to the previous year, reaching 6.5 trillion won ($4.89 billion), according to its regulatory filing on Thursday.

Nevertheless, the airline's operating profit fell 45.4 percent to 400.7 billion won, with net profit dropping 89.5 percent to 23.9 billion won.

The increase was primarily attributed to a 90 percent rise in revenue from the passenger business segment, totaling 4.3 trillion won.

“The expansion of international flight operations aimed to meet the growing demand for overseas travel and transit,” the company explained. Deploying irregular flights to various destinations like Melbourne, Australia and Chiang Mai, Thailand, as well as an increased supply of high-demand routes such as those to Japan, contributed to this growth.

The cargo business, on the other hand, experienced a downturn, with revenue declining by 46 percent on year to 1.6 trillion won, due to the decreasing air cargo freight rates.

Its bigger rival Korean Air, through its regulatory filing on Jan. 30, reported an 8.7 percent on-year increase in revenue totaling 14.6 trillion won. This was attributed to higher occupancy rates of high-class airline seats.

Operating profit decreased by 45 percent to 1.59 trillion won, largely due to increased labor costs.

“There was a temporary reflection of personnel expenses for the fourth quarter, which was related to bonus payments based on annual performance goals and safety objectives,” Korean Air explained.

Net profit fell 48.5 percent from the previous year to reach 916.8 billion won.

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