Korean Air poised to benefit from Trump presidency

Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential elections come as a boon to Korean Air, as the flag carrier will be able to absorb more demand from American and Chinese passengers amid possibly heightened political friction between the world's top two economies, analysts said Thursday. The analysts cite a sharp decline in direct flights between the United States and China. Airlines from both countries were allowed to operate more than 150 flights each week before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The figure has decreased to a mere 50 for now, as the two countries show no signs of thawing their icy bilateral relations. Korean Air will benefit the most among local airlines here, as more passengers for routes between the two countries are expected to take a transfer flight using the Korean flag carrier, market analysts said. "Korean Air will benefit from the prolonged supply limit for routes between the U.S. and China," Lee Jae-hyuk, an analyst at LS Securities, said.<br/>