Korean Air suffers net loss

Flag carrier Korean Air said Thursday it swung to a net loss in the first quarter as it was hit by fuel costs surging more than 20%.

For the three months ended March 31, the airline posted a consolidated net loss of 67.2 billion won (US$59 million) compared with a net profit of 270.9 billion a year earlier.

Sales rose 6.3%t to 2.998 trillion won. The company posted a operating loss of 98.9 billion won in the quarter, compared with an operating profit of 162.9 billion a year earlier.

Fuel expenses jumped 22% to 1.2 trillion won.

Korean Air said it expects increased traffic later this year thanks to the London Olympics and South Korea’s free-trade agreement with the United States.

Source - ttrweekly