New International Air Transport Association (IATA) statistics have shown that Korean Air maintained and improved top traffic records in 2009 despite the global economic slowdown that depressed the air cargo market. According to World Air Transport Statistics compiled by IATA, Korean Air topped the global rankings for commercial airline cargo operations for the sixth consecutive year securing first place. During 2009, Korean Air recorded 8.225 billion FTK (Freight Tonne-Kilometres), topping the chart for International Scheduled Freight Tonne-Kilometres, followed by Cathay Pacific (7.722 billion FTK) and Lufthansa (6.660 billion FTK). Korean Air attained the number one spot for the first time in 2004 and has consistently been one of the world’s top three freight carriers since 1993.