Korean Air has announced its quarterly results for the first three months of 2012, ended March 31st, 2012, posting operating revenue of 2,880.2 billion KRW.

The figure is up 5.9 per cent compared to the same period last year.

However, due to a surge in jet fuel expenses, the airline reported operating loss at 114.7 billion KRW, and a net loss is resulted during the period.

International passenger and cargo businesses remained the major revenue contributors for the airline in quarter one, accounting for 57.7 per cent and 27.1 per cent of the operating revenue respectively.

International Passenger Business

The airline posted overall respective growths of 12.6 per cent and 9.7 per cent with regard to international passenger capacity and traffic compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, reaching 21,114 million ASK and 15,989 million RPK, respectively.

Compared to the same period last year, it saw increased traffic across all routes, including Oceania (up 23 per cent), South-east Asian countries (up 18 per cent), and China (up 14 per cent).

While Korea outbound traffic maintained at last year’s level, overseas outbound reported an increase of 16 per cent.

The carrier is considered the World’s Most Innovative Airline by the World Travel Awards.