Stocks of Korean Air, hit another record low Friday after the company reported poor Q2 earnings amid a deteriorating business environment and hefty foreign exchange losses. According to Korean Air, the airline recorded KRW3.2t in sales from April to June, which had inched up by 0.2% year-on-year. The company said things had improved slightly, mainly due to increased demand through route diversification and a joint venture with Delta Air Lines. But it posted an operating loss of KRW98.6b in Q2, from an operating profit of KRW66.7b from the previous year. Its net loss recorded KRW380.8b in Q2. The company expected the second half of this year to be tougher in light of the chilly relations with Japan and ongoing trade tensions between the US and China. <br/>
sky
Aeroflot has indicated an initial set of routes on which it intends to deploy Airbus A350-900s. The carrier has 14 of the type on direct order with Airbus, but deliveries of the twinjet type have been put back to early 2020. Aeroflot appears to have firmed early route plans for the aircraft, which features in the airline's reservations engine from the beginning of next year's summer schedule. It is indicating that the A350-900 will be available on the New York JFK route from March 29. Aeroflot's booking engine also lists A350s operating the Beijing route, beginning May 1. Its SU252 and SU110 services to Seoul and Miami respectively will be flown with A350s as of 1-2 June, while the type will be deployed on the SU232 connection to Delhi from July 1. <br/>
Vietnam Airlines and Delta Air Lines plan to upgrade their codesharing relationship, setting the stage for Delta to offer seats on the Vietnamese carrier’s flights. Vietnam Airlines says the move marks its first effort to capitalise on the country’s attainment of Category 1 status from the US FAA. In addition to allowing Vietnamese carriers to offer services to the USA, Category 1 allows Vietnamese carriers to carry to code of USA-based airlines. The upgraded agreement will see Delta distributing Vietnam Airlines seats on the Hanoi-Tokyo route from Oct 2019. This adds to a previous agreement between the carriers signed in 2010, which allows Vietnam Airlines to sell onward connections aboard Delta from Tokyo Narita and Frankfurt. <br/>