Asiana Airlines posted an operating loss of 340 billion won. The fallout from selling its freighter business unit as a condition of the business combination was significant.
Asiana Airlines disclosed on the 3rd that on a separate basis for 2025, operating profit swung from a 42.3 billion won surplus to a 342.5 billion won deficit. Revenue (operating revenue) was 6.1969 trillion won, down 12.2% from 7.0592 trillion won a year earlier. Net loss came to 136.8 billion won, with the size narrowing 72.3% from the prior year (-493.8 billion won).
The biggest reason for the swing to a loss was a sharp drop in cargo business revenue. Last year's cargo business revenue was 958.4 billion won, down 761.1 billion won. Asiana Airlines sold its freighter business unit effective Aug. 1, 2025 to comply with the business combination conditions. Since then, the company said it has focused on generating cargo revenue by using the lower belly (lower cargo hold) of passenger aircraft.
One-off expenses related to integration preparations also played a big role. Along with increased mileage liability, IT and equipment investment, and costs from selling the freighter business, higher personnel expenses tied to ordinary wages and increased operating and maintenance expenses due to a strong exchange rate throughout the year were reflected simultaneously, sharply raising the expense burden.
Passenger segment revenue was 4.5696 trillion won, down 76.8 billion won. Although demand on Americas routes slowed due to tighter U.S. entry restrictions, the company strengthened China routes, where demand is rising thanks to visa-free policies, and steady Japan routes.
Fourth-quarter revenue last year was 1.3141 trillion won, down 27.4% from 1.8111 trillion won a year earlier. Operating loss widened from 24.2 billion won to 192.9 billion won, and net loss narrowed from 313.3 billion won to 176.5 billion won.
Asiana Airlines plans to pursue a recovery in profitability by focusing on passenger-led growth and expanding high value-added belly cargo transport this year. With the international passenger market remaining strong, the company plans to improve results through entering new routes such as Milan and Budapest in Europe, optimizing schedules and adjusting unprofitable routes, attracting urgent cargo such as semiconductor parts and biohealth, expanding fixed-volume contracts with global forwarders, and cutting expenses.