Over the last few months, Korean Air Cargo has made changes to its freighter network to mirror a shift in production sites to Southeast Asia. The airline said that in May it had re-launched cargo flights to Manila and in August it added services to Bangkok.
While Korean Air had used its passenger aircraft to transport freight on the Manila and Bangkok routes, the demand for air cargo has shown a “continuous rise as global companies shift their production bases to Southeast Asia”.
Against this backdrop, the airline decided to operate cargo flights on these routes to capitalise on the rising demand. In May, Korean Air also launched a freighter route on an Incheon – Xi’an – Hanoi rotation and increased freighter capacity on its Incheon – Hanoi – Delhi – Vienna – Milan service from three to four times a week.
In addition, on August 23, the airline increased its South America service from two to three flights per week. The South America-bound B777F departs Incheon and returns to Incheon via Anchorage, Miami, Sao Paolo, Santiago, Lima and Los Angeles. The route is the longest distance among Korean Air flights, taking nearly 70 hours to return to Incheon after departure.
In Miami during transit, electronic parts bound for Brazil and aircraft engines will be loaded. The returning freighters are filled with fresh cargo from Chile, Peru bound for Asia such as salmon, cherries, asparagus, mangoes and blueberries.
