Korean Air outbound cargo traffic soars to record high

South Korea's booming export-oriented economy will enable Korean Air to register record volumes of outbound cargo traffic this month. The flagship carrier said it will operate an additional forty-one freighter services this month to help move record volume of outbound cargo.

The 4,100 tonnes of additional cargo consist mainly of IT products bound for the US and Europe. This will be the carrier's largest operation ever.

The additional flights follow two busy months in September and October when the carrier operated 10 and 13 extra freighter flights, respectively.

Its outbound cargo movement, at 30,834 tonnes in September, and 33,066 tonnes in October, was up 33 per cent and 24 per cent respectively from the year-ago period.

With cargo volume expected to jump to a record 35,000 tonnes for November, Korean Air has now scheduled the largest number of additional flights for the month.

Observers point out that the increased traffic coincides with the peak season of cargo business ahead of festivities such as Thanksgiving and Christmas in the US and Europe. A recovery in consumer sentiment in those markets has led to increased demand for LCD panels, cellular phones, laptop computers and car parts.

Korean Air maintains its position as the world's largest international commercial air cargo operator for the previous five years.

Korean Air Cargo currently operates a fleet of 25 Boeing 747 freighters, the biggest air-cargo fleet in the world. It will take delivery of four new freighters, three B747-400Fs and one B747-8F, in 2010.