S. Korea's private aircraft numbers 532

SEOUL, July 7 (Yonhap) -- The number of aircraft owned by South Korea's private firms and individuals nearly doubled over the past decade partly due to the growth of the country's airline industry, the transportation ministry said Thursday. The number of private aircraft in South Korea reached 532 as of the end of June, up from 281 at the end of 2001, according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs. "The number of private aircraft in the country increased by an average of nine units a year since 1951 when the country's first private aircraft was registered," it said in a press release. The increase was attributed mainly to the fact that some 70 aircraft owned by government agencies, including the Korea Forest Service, were classified as privately owned planes in 2007, according to a ministry official. The recent launch of five low-cost carriers also helped increase the total number of private aircraft in South Korea, the official said. The five budget carriers currently own 29 aircraft. Out of the total, 66.9 percent or 356 are fixed-wing airplanes and 174 or 32.7 percent are helicopters. The remaining two are gliders. Nearly half, 237 aircraft, are owned by the country's seven airline companies, including the five budget carriers, with over half or 136 of the number owned by industry leader Korean Air Co., according to the ministry. The average age of aircraft owned by airline companies here is 9.9 years, far below the average of other major international airline companies, such as American Airlines whose aircraft are aged 14.1 years on average, it said. By manufacturer, 166 or 70 percent of all aircraft owned by South Korean airline companies were from Boeing Co., with the remaining 71 coming from Airbus.