Korean air carriers’ coronavirus losses to reach W5tr by June

South Korea’s aviation industry is likely to see losses from the coronavirus outbreak snowball to at least 5 trillion won ($4.2 billion) by June, according to industry sources on Sunday. With more international routes shutting down as countries announce entry bans on people traveling from Korea, at least 5.8 trillion won of losses are expected from the country’s eight air carriers, based on the calculation from their flight records as of the fourth week of February.  But such

March 8, 2020

Japan's entry restrictions deal bigger blow to airlines, travel agencies

Japan's entry restrictions for visitors from South Korea are dealing another blow to airlines and travel agencies already hit by the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak, the companies said Friday. Local airlines and travel agencies have been struggling with a sharp decline in air travel demand for more than a month after South Korea's first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported on Jan. 20. Adding to their woes, Japan announced Thursday that visitors from South Korea and China will have to stay

March 6, 2020

Korean Air to check all passengers’ temperatures before boarding

Korean Air said Thursday that it had begun checks on all passengers’ temperatures on international routes to check for the COVID-19, as part of the company’s preventive measures. The air carrier said it had secured eight thermal imaging cameras and handheld, non-contact infrared thermometers to check if a passenger’s temperature was below 37.5 Celsius degrees.  Passengers with body temperatures above 37.5 Celsius degrees will be refused boarding, Korean Air said. 

March 5, 2020

Hyundai unveils images of next-generation G80

Hyundai Motor Group on Thursday unveiled images of its luxury brand Genesis’ third-generation G80. The new G80 comes back in seven years. It is Genesis’ flagship model since 2008 when it was launched. An accumulated 210,000 units of G80 have been sold in the local market as of 2019.  Genesis Design Center chief Lee Sang-yub said that the latest G80 has been designed under the concept “athletic elegance,” putting its representative design features such as quad lamp

March 5, 2020

Hanjin KAL recommends heir apparent as director ahead of vote showdown

Hanjin KAL Corp., the holding company of logistics-centered Hanjin Group, recommended the group's heir apparent as a member of its boardroom ahead of a vote showdown this month amid a family feud over the throne of the group. Hanjin KAL Corp., which owns shares in Korean Air Lines Co., said its board members have suggested Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae and Korean Air Chief Financial Officer Ha Eun-yong as executive directors at the holding firm, the company said in a statement. "The

March 4, 2020

Airlines fly smaller, fewer planes amid coronavirus crisis

Following a sharp drop in the number of passengers and route suspensions due to spread of COVID-19, South Korean air carriers are flying smaller planes while parking their unused aircrafts within the airport facilities, according to industry sources Wednesday.  Full-service carrier Korean Air said that it would reduce the number of seats on its Incheon-Los Angeles route from 407 to 277 by switching from the A380-8 aircraft to the smaller B777-300 until March 14.  Asiana Airlines has

March 4, 2020

Imported car sales rise in Feb. despite virus

Even as the new coronavirus outbreak is dampening consumer sentiment, imported car sales bucked the trend in South Korea rising 5.3 percent in February on-year, latest data showed Wednesday. According to Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association, the number of newly registered imported cars in the country recorded 16,725 units in February. For the first two months of this year, sales increased by 0.8 percent from the same period in 2019 -- from 34,083 units to 34,365 units.

March 4, 2020

Hyundai Motor chief encourages employees amid coronavirus crisis

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice Chairman Chung Euisun sent a letter to employees Tuesday highlighting the group’s all-out efforts to secure safety and minimize business risk under its contingency plan. Chung said in an email that the group has been “actively cooperating with the government-led measures,” vowing to fully support employees’ safety with “all available resources.” He added that the group’s affiliates have been monitoring the COVID-19 o

March 3, 2020

Korea sends protest letter to Vietnam over plane forced to turn back

South Korea’s Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Kim Hyun-mi contacted her Vietnamese counterpart to express regret over a recent incident where a Korean air carrier was denied permission to land in Hanoi and was forced to turn back, government sources said Tuesday. In a letter to the Vietnamese aviation authorities, Kim wrote that it presented “a serious safety issue to order a plane to land in an unfamiliar airport while it is in flight.”  She reportedly also

March 3, 2020

Korea halts flights to Italy for first time in 29 years

Amid the continued spike in COVID-19 cases in South Korea and Italy, Korean air carriers said Tuesday that they would temporarily halt service to Italian cities.  According to the full-service carrier Korean Air, it has canceled all flights on its Incheon-Rome route from March 5 to April 25. This is the first time all flights on that route have been canceled, since its launch in 1991.  Another full-service carrier, Asiana Airlines, decided to halt its Incheon-Rome flights March 8-28

March 3, 2020

Car sales fall 11% in February on virus-caused supply disruptions

South Korea's car sales fell 11 percent last month from a year earlier as supply disruptions caused by the coronavirus outbreak resulted in reduced production.     The country's five carmakers -- Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, GM Korea, Renault Samsung Motors and SsangYong Motor  -- sold a combined 505,212 vehicles in February, down from 565,568 units a year ago, according to data from the companies.    The lower sales largely resulted from shortages of auto compone

March 2, 2020

Airlines to send more empty carriers to bring Koreans home

South Korean full-service carriers Korean Air and Asiana Airlines are reviewing sending additional ferry flights -- empty planes sent just to pick up passengers -- to Vietnam and Turkey, countries that travelers from Korea cannot enter amid the spread of the new coronavirus, according to the industry on Monday. Korean Air Flight 679 is set to depart from Incheon Airport on Tuesday and the airline is reviewing whether to send it as a ferry flight, it said.  “We will have to see the

March 2, 2020

[Newsmaker] Asiana flight turns back en route to Vietnam on coronavirus

A South Korean flight turned back while en route to Vietnam on Saturday after the Vietnamese authorities prevented it from landing in Hanoi, with more flights connecting the two countries expected to be suspended amid the spread of the new coronavirus. The flight of Asiana Airlines Inc., the country's second-biggest carrier, arrived back at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, around two hours after departing for Hanoi at 10:30 a.m. Asiana said it decided to return flight OZ729 when

March 1, 2020

Korean Air to cut flights on US routes next month

Korean Air Lines Co., the country's biggest airline by sales, said Friday it will reduce flights on US routes next month and use smaller planes due to declining demand amid the spread of the new coronavirus. Korean Air will temporarily reduce the number of flights on the routes from Incheon to San Francisco, Honolulu and Boston from March 7-28 to minimize the impact of COVID-19 on its business, the company said in a statement. "We may reorganize further flight schedules depending on cor

Feb. 28, 2020

Hyundai Motor’s Ulsan plant halts due to confirmed COVID-19 case

Hyundai Motor Group stopped operations of its Ulsan manufacturing plant’s second factory Friday after an employee who works there was confirmed with COVID-19. According to the automaker, the factory has suspended operations since 11:30 a.m. Friday. The worker was confirmed to be infected that morning. The company said it has disinfected the site and put five co-workers into self-isolation.  A Hyundai Motor employee said the duration of the shutdown will be decided later based on t

Feb. 28, 2020

Heads of Korean budget carriers ask for govt support

Amid the falling number of passengers and suspension of routes due to the coronavirus outbreak, chief executive officers of Korean budget carriers on Friday released a joint statement asking for the government’s support.  The country’s six low-cost carriers -- Air Busan, Air Seoul, Eastar Jet, Jeju Air, Jin Air and T’way -- said in a joint statement that the “aviation industry has been falling apart” since the nationwide boycott of trips to Japan last year an

Feb. 28, 2020

Mobility startups immune to coronavirus outbreak

Personal mobility startups remain mostly unaffected by the ongoing coronavirus outbreak for the time being, according to industry sources. Electric scooter-sharing service Kickgoing operator Olulo, with more than 440,000 members, said Wednesday that its personal mobility business has not been greatly affected by the massive COVID-19 crisis. “Olulo’s service wasn’t much affected as it is a personal mobility service. Rather, it was the weather that had a bigger influence,&r

Feb. 27, 2020

Hyundai Mobis to enter global head-up display market

Hyundai Mobis Co., South Korea's biggest auto parts maker, said Thursday it aims to make inroads into the global head-up display market. The global HUD market has been dominated by multinational auto parts companies such as Continental AG, Denso and Nippon Seiki Co. "The company is aiming to sign contracts with global carmakers to sell its HUD products and foster HUD products to become a major export item," Hyundai Mobis said in a statement. Hyundai Mobis recently started to supp

Feb. 27, 2020

Hyundai Motor Group donates W5b to help fight coronavirus

Hyundai Motor Group has donated 5 billion won ($4.1 million) to Hope Bridge Association of the National Disaster Relief to support medical personnel and offer relief goods amid the quickly escalating COVID-19 outbreak across the country.  The donation was made to especially help people in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, the company said.  Hyundai Motor Group and the Hope Bridge Association said the donation will be used to offer products needed for the prevention of epidemics a

Feb. 26, 2020

BMW introduces two new gasoline crossovers

BMW Korea has introduced two new gasoline-powered crossovers with revamped features, the New X3 and the New X4. The Korean unit of the German automaker said Wednesday that the New X3 xDrive20i and the New X4 xDrive20i models are equipped with advanced features including a panoramic glass roof and a Driving Assistant Plus function that allows semi-automated driving. The New X3 is the first in the X series to come in a single trim “Luxury Line.” The midsized sport activity vehicle

Feb. 26, 2020