Korean Air announced on August 14 that it posted consolidated sales of 2.83 trillion won for the second quarter of this year, down 9.8 percent from a year ago, with an operating loss estimated at 50.8 billion won.
The company blamed the decline in sales on a sharp decline in the demand for overseas travels resulting from the yen’s depreciation vis-à-vis the Korean won and the political instability on the Korean Peninsula.
The number of passengers it transported during the second quarter marked a negative year-on-year growth of 6 percent. The volume of cargoes it transported during the April-June period also recorded a negative growth of 2.1 percent, although outbound cargoes grew by 2 percent from a year ago.
A Korean Air official said, “We will strive to strengthen profitability in the areas of passenger and cargo transportation in the third quarter, while doubling efforts to explore new markets.”