The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, lead by Minister Kang Ho-in, announced that the 36th Aviation Day Korea 2016 ceremony took place at Mayfield Hotel in Seoul on Oct. 28 with some 400 distinguished guests from the government, academia and research institutes in attendance.
At the ceremony, some 65 people won medals and citations in recognition of their meritorious services to the development of the aviation industry, including Manager Oh Sang-in of the Safety and Security Office of Jeju Airlines, a low cost air carrier. He won the Bronze Medal. Oh served in the aviation industry for over 40 years and is credited for the development of a system to weigh the weight of airplanes and improving the safety of airline operation.
This year has a long list of reasons to celebrate. Notable achievements made by Korea's aviation industry this year include, among others, Korea's becoming an ICAO council member for five consecutive terms; aviation transport volume hitting a record high; and remarkable progress being made by low cost carriers.
MOLIT says that since this event gathered all aviation professionals of Korea for the first time since Korea's successful bidding to become an ICAO council member for five consecutive terms, it will serve as a meaningful opportunity to celebrate the accomplishment with all those who are committed to making Korea a global air transport power.
The trans-Pacific market between Asia and North America has been experiencing a growth surge, with available seats growing about 10 percent in 2014 and 2015, respectively, after years of limited growth. This has been accompanied by yield pressure, but most airlines appear willing to sacrifice performance for a long-term shot at market share. This is not the case at Korean Air, which has typically been the largest Asian carrier across the Pacific and second-overall only to United.
Not all services will be made daily and Korean Air does not plan a hyper-frequency approach of multiple 777 flights a day; instead it offers double daily A380 flights to Los Angeles and New York and will soon add 747-8s and 787-9s to its fleet. About 50 percent of Korean Air's North American passengers transfer beyond Seoul. China is the large opportunity followed by core Southeast Asian markets like Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam and then smaller "boutique" markets like Cambodia and Myanmar.
Growth is in the cards for Korean Air, but selectively, VP Jackson told CAPA at its recent Americas Aviation Summit in Las Vegas. Korean Air has the largest network of destinations, serving 13 points in North America. This is more than any other Asian carrier and more than the number of points any North American carrier serves in Asia. Additional points in the medium-term are unlikely. Jackson says: "We’re present in every place we want to be."
Korean Air recorded its largest ever quarterly operating profit of 447.6 billion won ($394 million) in the third quarter this year, surpassing the previous record of 416.5 billion won in the third quarter of 2010, the company announced Oct. 24.
The nation's top carrier tentatively recorded sales of 3.06 trillion won and a net profit of 428 billion won. Operating profit and sales revenue rose 4.7 percent and 34.9 percent year-on-year, respectively.
The net income turned into profit, compared to the 510 billion won loss during the same period last year. Korean Air said the recent announcement dispelled worries about its financial stability.
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