Korean Air No. 1 cargo carrier for 6 years

By Lee Hyo-sik

Staff reporter

Korean Air continues to dominate the global cargo transport market, holding the No. 1 spot for the sixth consecutive year.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said Thursday that the nation's largest air carrier topped the global ranking in commercial cargo operations in 2009, maintaining the top spot since 2004.

It also became the world's 13th largest passenger carrier last year, up four notches from the previous year.

The airline company transported 8.8 billion freight tonne-kilometers (FTK), becoming the world's largest global freight carrier. Cathay Pacific came in second at 7.7 billion FTK, followed by Lufthansa at 6.7 billion FTK.

"New market developments and excellent service management are the key factors for our success. Eying high-potential growth in the Central Asia market, Korean Air has been developing the Navoi International Airport in Uzbekistan, positioning the airport as a regional logistics hub to expand our global cargo network. For prompt and safe operations, Korean Air has unified its freighter fleet to all B747-400F aircrafts and has continued to boost customer satisfaction through strict quality control," a Korean Air spokesman said.

The airline posted 52.1 billion revenue passenger-kilometers (RPK) in 2009, becoming the 13th largest passenger carrier, up from 17th in 2008.

The spokesman said by providing customer-oriented services, diversifying business fields and advancing the management system, Korean Air strives to achieve its goal of maintaining the top spot in cargo transport and emerging as the world's top 10 passenger carrier by its 50th anniversary in 2019.