Asiana Airlines Inc., South Korea’s second-largest carrier, has widened its net loss in the first quarter due to increased operating costs and the weakening of the local currency, the company said Thursday.
Asiana Airlines recorded a net loss of 174.4 billion won (US$129.6 million) in the January-March period, compared with a loss of 62 billion won from the same period last year, the company said.
Its sales increased 12.1 percent on-year to 1.63 trillion won, the highest for a first quarter, but the company shifted to an operating loss of 31.2 billion won from a profit of 92.5 billion won a year ago.
The company said its sales were up thanks to an expansion of its air routes but its net loss deepened due to higher operating costs from an increase in transportation volume and a weak won.
“We have been replacing our planes under a long-term aircraft operation plan,” an official from Asiana said, noting the company is pushing to strengthen its hardware competitiveness.
Asiana said its profitability is expec
ted to improve in the second half of this year, noting it is working to expand its service in long distance routes to the Americas and Europe and routes to China.
In detail, Asiana saw its sales from passenger business climb 26.3 percent on-year to 1.09 trillion won in the first quarter on the increase of its air routes to Japan, Southeast Asia and Australia.
But its cargo business posted a 12.4 percent decrease in sales to 352.4 billion won as competition in the market escalated following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source: Yonhap News Agency