Walter Cho, chair and CEO of Hanjin Group and Korean Air, on Monday underlined the importance of efficiency and innovation as Korea’s top air carrier looks to streamline the Korean Air-Asiana Airlines merger this year.
“It will be a very busy year,” said Cho in his New Year’s message to employees. “In particular, airline affiliates should turn this period into a complete merger practically, instead of preparing for it, so we can take this time to adjust (to the merger).”
Korean Air plans to complete the merger with Asiana Airlines by the end of this year, and Hanjin Group’s three low-cost carriers — Jin Air, Air Seoul and Air Busan — plan to merge into an integrated brand by the first quarter of next year.
“As (Hanjin Group) grows and variables increase, the time needed for decision making becomes longer,” said Cho. “If you work in the same way as before, it will be difficult to handle sudden changes.”
Noting that the integrated versions of Korean Air and Jin Air will each operate 240 and 60 airplanes, Cho underscored that Hanjin Group’s competition should now be found in the global market, not within Korea.
“Going beyond the title of Korea’s logistics leader, Hanjin is continuously expanding integrated logistics services for e-commerce merchants around the world as a global logistics company while diversifying its customer portfolio and extending its network across the global market,” he said.
“To overcome the fierce competition in this fast-changing environment, I ask my employees to create detailed processes for devising strategic objectives and meeting goals that can be assessed with numbers.”
Cho also stressed the importance of strengthening safety and cybersecurity, noting that such values should never be compromised.
hwkan@heraldcorp.com
