Moody's Investors Service said Wednesday the spread of the coronavirus in South Korea is credit negative for its rated transportation companies amid declining traffic volumes. The extent of the virus' adverse impact on the transportation industry will depend on the duration of disruptions and evolving public sentiment, Moody's said in a statement. "Given the spread of the coronavirus, people in Korea will be less likely to commute and go out for social and business gatherings, thereby

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's national flag carrier, has offered a voluntary leave program to its employees, sources here said Tuesday, as the company suffers a sharp drop in travel demand amid growing angst over the novel coronavirus. Korean Air's flight attendants who have worked for the company for at least two years can take up to three months of voluntary leave starting this month, according to sources. This is the second time that the air carrier has offered such a program to its

The number of passengers using Incheon International Airport in the first week of March dropped by 80 percent on-year, the lowest since 2003, according to the airport operator Tuesday. Incheon International Airport Corp. said that from March 1-8 the number of passengers who transited South Korea’s gateway airport came at 298,307, less than one-fifth of 1,536,594 last year.  During the first week of March, an average number of passengers using Incheon airport was around 37,000. 

Renault Samsung Motors said it started delivering its new premium sport utility vehicle unit XM3 on Monday, with 8,542 preorders -- which opened on Feb. 21. The company is of the view that its TCe 260, a high-performance1.3-liter gasoline turbo engine co-developed by Renault Group and Daimler Automotive Group, has captivated customers, taking up 84 percent of the preorders so far. The carmaker has introduced two versions for the new SUV line -- TCe 260, and a 1.6-liter gasoline engine, GTe.

South Korea’s largest gateway begins full-fledged temperature monitoring program of all outbound passengers

South Korea’s aviation industry is likely to see losses from the coronavirus outbreak snowball to at least 5 trillion won ($4.2 billion) by June, according to industry sources on Sunday. With more international routes shutting down as countries announce entry bans on people traveling from Korea, at least 5.8 trillion won of losses are expected from the country’s eight air carriers, based on the calculation from their flight records as of the fourth week of February.  But such

Japan's entry restrictions for visitors from South Korea are dealing another blow to airlines and travel agencies already hit by the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak, the companies said Friday. Local airlines and travel agencies have been struggling with a sharp decline in air travel demand for more than a month after South Korea's first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported on Jan. 20. Adding to their woes, Japan announced Thursday that visitors from South Korea and China will have to stay

Korean Air said Thursday that it had begun checks on all passengers’ temperatures on international routes to check for the COVID-19, as part of the company’s preventive measures. The air carrier said it had secured eight thermal imaging cameras and handheld, non-contact infrared thermometers to check if a passenger’s temperature was below 37.5 Celsius degrees.  Passengers with body temperatures above 37.5 Celsius degrees will be refused boarding, Korean Air said. 

Hyundai Motor Group on Thursday unveiled images of its luxury brand Genesis’ third-generation G80. The new G80 comes back in seven years. It is Genesis’ flagship model since 2008 when it was launched. An accumulated 210,000 units of G80 have been sold in the local market as of 2019.  Genesis Design Center chief Lee Sang-yub said that the latest G80 has been designed under the concept “athletic elegance,” putting its representative design features such as quad lamp

Hanjin KAL Corp., the holding company of logistics-centered Hanjin Group, recommended the group's heir apparent as a member of its boardroom ahead of a vote showdown this month amid a family feud over the throne of the group. Hanjin KAL Corp., which owns shares in Korean Air Lines Co., said its board members have suggested Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae and Korean Air Chief Financial Officer Ha Eun-yong as executive directors at the holding firm, the company said in a statement. "The

Following a sharp drop in the number of passengers and route suspensions due to spread of COVID-19, South Korean air carriers are flying smaller planes while parking their unused aircrafts within the airport facilities, according to industry sources Wednesday.  Full-service carrier Korean Air said that it would reduce the number of seats on its Incheon-Los Angeles route from 407 to 277 by switching from the A380-8 aircraft to the smaller B777-300 until March 14.  Asiana Airlines has

Japanese auto brands hit hard

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice Chairman Chung Euisun sent a letter to employees Tuesday highlighting the group’s all-out efforts to secure safety and minimize business risk under its contingency plan. Chung said in an email that the group has been “actively cooperating with the government-led measures,” vowing to fully support employees’ safety with “all available resources.” He added that the group’s affiliates have been monitoring the COVID-19 o

South Korea’s Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Kim Hyun-mi contacted her Vietnamese counterpart to express regret over a recent incident where a Korean air carrier was denied permission to land in Hanoi and was forced to turn back, government sources said Tuesday. In a letter to the Vietnamese aviation authorities, Kim wrote that it presented “a serious safety issue to order a plane to land in an unfamiliar airport while it is in flight.”  She reportedly also

Amid the continued spike in COVID-19 cases in South Korea and Italy, Korean air carriers said Tuesday that they would temporarily halt service to Italian cities.  According to the full-service carrier Korean Air, it has canceled all flights on its Incheon-Rome route from March 5 to April 25. This is the first time all flights on that route have been canceled, since its launch in 1991.  Another full-service carrier, Asiana Airlines, decided to halt its Incheon-Rome flights March 8-28