Korean Air swings to 2008 loss on increased costs

By Nam Kwang-sik

SEOUL, Feb. 3 (Yonhap) -- Korean Air Co., South Korea's biggest carrier, said Tuesday that it swung to a loss in 2008 from a year earlier due to increased costs.

Net loss came to 1.96 trillion won (US$1.4 billion) last year, compared with a
net profit of 10.7 billion won a year earlier, Korean Air said in a regulatory
filing.
Sales rose 16 percent on-year to 10 trillion won, but Korean Air posted an
operating loss of 99.2 billion won, compared with an operating profit of 636.8
billion won a year earlier.
Korean Air attributed the loss to increased costs caused by the South Korean
won's depreciation against the U.S. dollar and soaring oil prices in the first
half of last year.
In 2009, Korean Air is aiming for 10.3 trillion won in sales and 600 billion won
in operating profit, a turnaround from an operating loss this year.
The carrier will also spend 870 billion won this year on aircraft and other
projects including the construction of a cargo terminal in Tianjin, China. The
figure is up 50 percent from last year.
Korean Air will purchase five airplanes such as B777-300ER this year.