Covid: Airlines ditch art and duty-free business in quest for cash

Korean Air Lines is poised to sell its in-flight catering and duty-free businesses, joining other embattled carriers in offloading assets including art collections to raise cash after the coronavirus plunged the aviation industry into crisis. The Korean flag-carrier will sign an agreement as early as next week to sell its catering business to private equity firm Hahn & Co. for about 1t won ($840m), Korea Economic Daily reported Friday, citing an unidentified source. Korean Air last month confirmed it was in talks with Hahn for both the catering and duty-free units and the two had outlined a sale plan. A spokesman for the airline said Friday that talks were ongoing. Covid-19 has put airlines under extraordinary pressure as travel restrictions force them to ground planes and drastically rein in costs through layoffs, salary cuts and other steps. Many have turned to capital markets and governments for financial support. Others have taken more novel approaches, such as BA auctioning some of its art collection. Japan’s ANA Holdings said this week it is selling a pilot-training center in Tokyo, while Korean Air has also already announced plans to sell a plot of land in Seoul and its stake in a marina operator. <br/>