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Korean Air adding flights and routes from June
May 8th 2020
Korean Air (KAL) plans to more than double its international routes and flights from June with the return of nonstop service to scores of cities in the Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America. Read More »
The airline said on Thursday it would operate 32 routes in June, up from 13 in May. Before the coronavirus pandemic, the SkyTeam alliance member had 110 routes in its international network.
KAL flights would jump to 146 a week in June, an increase of 91 a week from the 55 flights a week this month. The June schedule represented 20% of capacity compared with planned operations.
In the Asia-Pacific, KAL will resume services to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Yangon. The airline flies nonstop to Bangkok, Jakarta, Manila and Phnom Penh.
Flights also will be reinstated to Beijing, Guangzhou, Mudanjiang, Qingdao, Shanghai Pudong, Taipei, Ulaanbaatar and Yanji to return to service alongside existing flights to Tokyo Narita and Shenyang.
The schedule changes were to "prepare for increased travel demand as COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in countries around the world", KAL said.
"The airline expects to secure more routes and capacity for cargo transport by reopening some of its international flights," it said in a statement.
"Routes with expected demand for both passengers and cargo have been selected for reopening."
KAL is scheduled to announce its first quarter financial results next week when it is expected to report an operating loss in the vicinity of 240 billion won (US$197 million), local media reported.
In other Korean aviation news, the proposed acquisition of Asiana Airlines by a consortium led by Hyundai Development Company (HDC) has been delayed to an undisclosed date, it was announced last week. The deal had been expected to close at the end of April.
HDC said in a regulatory filing it needed more time to complete the transaction and secure regulatory approval in the Russian Federation.
Last November, a consortium led by HDC and Mirae Asset Daewoo was announced as the preferred bidder to take over Asiana Airlines.
South Korean conglomerate, Kumho Industrial Co. Ltd, holds the largest stake in Asiana, at 31%. The terms of the deal required the consortium to purchase Kumho's shares in the airline and inject fresh capital, worth about two trillion won, into South Korea's second largest carrier through a share issue.
The delay in completing the Asiana deal followed the pushback of LCC Jeju Air's 54.4 billion won (US$44.8 million) acquisition of 51.17% of rival LCC, Eastar Jet. Jeju Air said last week the transaction was awaiting regulatory approval in Thailand and Vietnam.
