Korean Air marks 50th anniversary with vision for growth

Korean Air President Cho Won-tae, fifth from left, cuts the airline's 50th anniversary cake alongside company executives and staff at the anniversary event held at its headquarters in western Seoul, Monday. / Courtesy of Korean Air

By Kim Hyun-bin

It's not easy for a company to maintain existence for 50 years. And it is far more difficult for one to grow and become one of the world's top players in its field. But Korean Air has done this.

Five decades ago, the nation's flagship carrier started off as a small local airliner. But surprisingly with continuous investments and effort, the carrier gained global recognition and is now competing with the best airlines from around the world.

March 1 marked Korean Air's 50th anniversary and a ceremony was held at the airline's headquarters in western Seoul, Monday, highlighting its past-to-present accomplishments and goals, with some 1,500 employees in attendance.

“In the last 50 years, love from customers and public trust have become two wings for Korean Air,” Cho Won-tae, president of the airline, said. “Korean Air will strive to become the wings of all members of our society so they can dream of a better life. That is how we want to greet another 100 years.”

When launching operations in 1969, Korean Air operated just eight airplanes that traveled to three cities in Japan. Now, it has 166 jets that connect to 124 cities in 44 countries.

Korean Air has made a name for itself and is deemed worthy of its slogan “Excellence in Flight” with matching in-flight services and transportation.

Over the last half a century, the carrier's accumulated flight miles reached 10.18 billion kilometers, which is equivalent to going around the globe 254,679 times or 13,400 roundtrips to the moon.

In 1969, sales recorded 3.6 billion won but they grew 3,514 times to 12.65 trillion won in 2019.

It took the airline 22 years to exceed its first 100 million mark in the accumulated number of passengers. But starting early 2000, Korean Air is adding 100 million passengers within every four to five years.

Since its launch, nearly 715 million passengers have flown with Korean Air. It is equivalent to the country's total population each taking the airline over 13 times.

More growth to come

At the anniversary ceremony, Korean Air reaffirmed its commitment to “Vision 2023” which aims to enhance growth, profit and stability.

Under the vision, the company plans to increase annual sales by 5.1 percent each year to record 16 trillion won in 2023. It will also acquire 24 more airplanes to operate a total of 190 jets by that year.

Korean Air plans to expand and better utilize its joint venture partnership with Delta Air Lines which was inked in May 2018, to better connect Asia and the Americas.

Starting April 12, Korean Air is scheduled to launch a new route between Incheon and Boston, and Delta Air Lines will begin services between Incheon and Minneapolis on April 2.

With the addition of the new routes, the two airlines will connect 290 cities in the U.S. and 80 cities in Asia.