Asiana Airlines has been taking all kinds of measures to recover its profitability since December 2015, including eliminating first-class seats on some of its routes. The measures paid off in the first half this year as operating profit rose 23.9 percent to 60.4 billion won from sales revenue of 2.741 trillion won, up 6.8 percent YoY, the air carrier said in the First-Half Management Report issued by the Strategic Planning Team.

The report said the normalization measures helped to boost the operation of the air carrier overall and improve the figures for the period. The report said the three key measures included the readjustment of its flight routes, streamlining its operation and upgrading its planes.

At the end of the 2015 operational period, the air carrier did not do well. Its net loss amounted to 81.5 billion won for the year, plunging the entire company into a crisis.

Tough competition from the LCC and foreign airlines were blamed for the dismal results of Asiana, and the air carrier has been taking measures to improve the operation. The air carrier reduced the number of branches around the country to 14 from 23, while 128 overseas offices have been cut to 92.

The airline also increased the number of seats on its 15 planes by 366. The air carrier did away with all first-class seats on those planes, including six A320s, and four B777s to increase the economy-class seats.

Asiana Airlines, in partnership with its employees, will conduct its business in a manner that ensures the health and safety of its employees, customers, associated companies and the general public, while meeting its obligations under all applicable regulations. Asiana Airlines will accomplish this through a Safety Management System and take utmost care to apply the following principles ensuring the highest level of safety.

* To comply with and, wherever possible, exceed, regulatory requirements and standards.

* To ensure that skilled and trained human resources and sufficient material resources are available to achieve safety objectives.

* To monitor and measure the safety performance of our system continuously through the safety performance indicators and to provide feedback to all employees.

* On-going training of employees in flight and ground safety issues.

* There are no restrictions to the reporting of flight and ground safety issues.

* To ensure that no action will be taken against any employee who discloses a safety concern through the hazard reporting system, unless such disclosure indicates an illegal act, gross negligence, or a violation of regulations or procedures.

* To identify causes of hazards and to take preventative measures.

* To continually improve our safety performance through management processes that ensure relevant safety action is taken and is effective.

“No compromise on safety issues” is Asiana’s core management philosophy, it says. All levels of management and all employees are accountable for the delivery of this highest level of safety performance.

Asiana Airlines Inc., South Korea's second-biggest passenger carrier, is struggling to improve its business amid an ongoing diplomatic row over the deployment of a self-defense missile system here and increased competition with budget carriers.

Under its three-year restructuring plan that ends in December 2018, Asiana Airlines has cut costs, incorporated redundant business departments, and reorganized its fleet and routes. The airline announced the plan in December 2015 after it had performed poorly in the previous three years due to challenges from low-cost carriers.