Addendum
Korean Air chair believes U.S.-China trade war “will end soon”
April 1st 2025
Adopting a conciliatory tone at a recent Korean Air (KAL) media event, the carrier’s chair, Walter Cho, said the airline “was seeing a downturn in passenger volume between trans-Pacific routes and Europe but said he thought the U.S.-China trade war “would end soon”. Read More »
Cho acknowledged the tariffs imposed by the U.S. and China on each other were impacting KAL but said “it’s subtle”. “Maybe 5% compared with last year, but it has some significant impact on our business,” he said.
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“The tariffs could cost KAL US$50 million to US$100 million in lost revenue if lower levels of passenger revenues continue for the rest of the year,” he estimated.
Cho forecast KAL will remain in the black and that the airline will maintain its North America network.
Air freight is 40% of KAL’s business, he said, so the airline’s cargo unit will refocus on servicing Europe, Canada and China.
KAL is a long time Boeing customer. Last March it finalized an order with the U.S. OEM for 20 777-9s, the new generation Boeing wide-body scheduled for reveal next year, and 20 787-9s.
