By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff reporter
Jin Air, a low cost carrier of Korean Air, posted an operating profit in the first half of the year, its first half-yearly gain since its establishment two years ago, lifted by surging domestic and international air travelers.
In a press conference marking the second anniversary of the budget carrier, Jin Air CEO Kim Jae-kun said Thursday that the airline earned 50 billion won in revenue from January through June, and recorded an operating profit of 2.1 billion won. It was the first time for Jin Air to operate in the black since it was founded by its parent Korean Air in July 2008.
``We had an operating loss of 5.8 billion won in the first half of 2009 due to the global economic downturn, the worldwide flu epidemic and other unfavorable business conditions. But we were able to turn around sharply this year through our rigorous efforts to cut costs, boost labor productivity and improve customer service, on top of soaring air travel demand,'' Kim said. He added that the 2.1 billion-won operating profit in the first half was the largest among the nation's low cost carriers.
``We expect to achieve 8 billion won in operating profits for the entire year if we continue to operate at the current pace,'' the CEO continued, mentioning Jin Air will launch two international routes in the second half of the year and one more in the first half of 2011.
``Currently, we operate one domestic route between Kimpo-Jeju, and two international routes ― Kimpo-Bangkok and Kimpo-Guam. In the latter half of the year, we will run two more international routes ― Kimpo-Clark, the Philippines, and Kimpo-Macao. Early next year, we will fly between Jeju and Shanghai,'' Kim said.
He then said Jin Air will operate more international flights between Korea and China, Japan, and Southeast Asian countries to emerge as one of Asia's leading airline firms.
``We have been engaged in a campaign, called ``Save the Air,'' to increase the awareness of the importance of environment conservation. We have and will operate airplanes that consume less fuel and produce less CO2 emissions,'' the CEO said.