A strategy of “prioritising cargo over passenger services” during the coronavirus pandemic has helped China Airlines stay in the black, despite a sharp decline in passenger travel demand. The Taiwanese carrier, which recently reported an operating profit of NT$2.18b ($76.3m) for the year ended 31 December 2020, disclosed an 87% year-on-year increase in cargo revenue. This compares to a 77% plunge in passenger revenue for the year, amid ongoing travel restrictions and border closures. China Airlines disclosed on 18 March that its full-year revenue shrank about 32% year on year to NT$115b. The carrier says it will continue to tap into the “steady demand” from air cargo services, including expanding its cargo network. This year, the carrier will add increased services to undisclosed points in Europe. It will also add stopovers in the Indian cities of Delhi and Mumbai to “tap into India’s market potential”, as well as expand its Mainland China freighter network with flights to Ningbo and Tianjin.<br/>
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Battered by the pandemic, Korean Air hit the rockiest patch of its half-century history last year. While there seems to be hope on the horizon on the back of the acquisition of longtime rival Asiana Airlines, the air carrier is still looking at another challenging year -- this time due to the uncertainty of the post-coronavirus recovery and slow vaccine distribution. In the latest developments surrounding the merger of Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, state-run lender Korea Development Bank last week launched a management evaluation committee dedicated to the deal. The committee will oversee Korean Air’s post-merger integration and evaluate its business operation to bring about the “sound management of the airline” with plans to set objectives for the evaluation process sometime in the first half of this year, KDB said in a statement. The move came after the airline raised 3.3t won ($2.92b) through paid-in capital increase, of which some 1.5t won will be spent to purchase Asiana stocks later this year. With a total of 173.6m shares sold at 19,100 won each, lower than its closing price Wednesday of 26,750 won, as well as hopes surrounding the acquisition deal, the airline successfully raised capital, clearing yet another hurdle in its plan to acquire Asiana.<br/>