The head of South Korea's leading airline, Korean Air Co., said Monday he will focus on completing the acquisition of its smaller local rival, Asiana Airlines Inc., and preparing for pent-up post-pandemic travel demand.
In November 2020, Korean Air signed a deal to acquire the controlling stake in Asiana in a deal valued at 1.8 trillion won ($1.42 billion) that would create the world's 10th-biggest airline by fleet.
The national flag carrier has said it aims to launch a merged entity with Asiana in 2024 after completing a takeover process by this year, and to streamline their routes and reduce maintenance costs.
Korean Air Chairman and Chief Executive Cho Won-tae said he expects the airline industry to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and be back on track.
"We need to analyze what destinations customers prefer after the pandemic, when they resume travel, and what in-flight services they want as a wave of reopenings will further spur a surge in demand for plane travel," Cho said in a New Year's message to employees.
But he noted higher operating costs, global supply disruptions and changes in the way of post-pandemic travel as uncertainties for the airline sector in 2023.
Global airlines were hit hard by the unprecedented pandemic in early 2020 as countries shut their borders to stem the spread of the virus. They have been struggling with poor earnings results and high jet fuel costs.
Korean Air has focused on winning more cargo deals to offset a sharp plunge in travel demand in the past two years, while resuming services on some long-haul routes amid eased travel restrictions recently.
As a result, its net profit soared to 1.35 trillion won in the January-September period of last year from 167 billion won a year earlier. (Yonhap)
