Korean Air Cargo has maintained its No. 1 ranking as the biggest air cargo airline in terms of Freight Tonne-Kilometres (FTKs) for 2009, a title its heldsince 2004.

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.

For passenger operations, Korean Air was ranked 13th in the chart of International Scheduled Passenger- Kilometres by recording 52.086 billion RPK (Revenue Passenger-Kilometres) in 2009, from 17th (51.321 billion RPK) in 2008.

The carrier said it had achieved the top result for the last six years through developing new markets and excellent service management. It also moved to tap high-potential growth in the Central Asia market, by developiong the Navoi International Airport in Uzbekistan as a logistics hub for Central Asia and expanding its global cargo network.

Korean Air said it is aiming to achieve a goal of remaining in number one position for 15 years and a global top ten ranking in the passenger field by its 50th anniversary in 2019.