News

Korean Air looks forward to a positive 2012

15 Dec 2011 by ReggieHo

Korean Air recorded strong growth in Hong Kong from January to November this year, especially in premium cabins. Both the number of passengers and revenue in first class grew by 37 per cent against the same period in the previous year, while the figures recorded were 20 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively, for business class. The period’s revenue remained the same for economy although passenger volume was up by 3 per cent.

Not surprisingly, the strongest growth was recorded in Oceania, with passenger number and revenue having increased by 122 per cent and 104 per cent respectively. Figures from Europe/Middle East and the airline’s home base also were also positive, while both America and Japan showed declines.

In 2012, the airline will launch new services from Seoul Incheon to London Gatwick and Palau, as well as from Busan to Cebu, and Daegu to Bangkok. Daegu is the fourth largest city in South Korea after Seoul, Busan and Incheon, and a major manufacturing hub for textiles, metals and machinery.

There are also plans to increase frequencies on the following routes:

Seoul Incheon-Phuket: from seven to 11 flights per week
Seoul Incheon-Jakarta: seven to ten flights per week
Seoul Incheon-Auckland: five to seven flights per week
Seoul Incheon-Sydney: seven to ten flights per week
Busan-Hong Kong: seven to ten flights per week
Busan-Osaka Kansai: seven to 14 flights per week
 
According to a source from the carrier, Korean Air has decided to go for the slightly larger, second-generation Dreamliner (B787-9) instead of B787-8. It has just received its fifth A380 and is also expecting deliveries of B777-300ERs, A330-200s, more A380s, B737s and B747-8Is in the coming years. The B747-8I is Boeing’s new Very Large Aircraft (VLA) offering, which was tested for the first time on 20 March 2011.

Amadeus, a transaction processor and provider of technology solutions for the travel and tourism industry, predicts that South Korea will be a market to watch in 2012. David Brett, the company’s Asia-Pacific president, said: “South Korean travel, both inbound and outbound, has experienced significant growth in recent years. While it may not yet rival markets such as China and India in terms of travel volumes, it is certainly making some major leaps forward and should continue to do so in 2012, despite global economic concerns.”

Figures released by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) show that, as of December 1, 2011, the country recorded more than nine million visitor arrivals, already the eight million total of last year.

For more about the airline, visit www.koreanair.com

Reggie Ho

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