How business, doctors and journalists prey on your food anxieties I

A DV c R T I S E M E N T 2 0
ASIANA AIRLI N r S
Struggling Asiana Airlines in the Black for the
First Tlme in Seven Years
--_--- '- ' siana Airlines, quartered in
launched by South Korea's Kumho Group Minneapolis, by
in 1988, is hoping to become a world-class which the two
a'rrline <strong>and</strong> one of the best in the industry airlines went
by the turn of the centur,v, with three ele- . into joint
ments as the keys to its success : perfor- operations
mance, reliability <strong>and</strong> servicen on all
Asiana Chairman Park Seong-Yawng is transpacific
greatly encouraged by the airline's first prof- routes <strong>and</strong>
it, which Asiana produced last year after los- started to
ing nearly $300 million in six years .
exchange
Its first earnings were small-30 billion gateway trafwon
($37 .5 million) over revenue of 794 .8 flc into each
billion won ($993 .5 milGon)-but a tri- other's respecumph
nonetheless. rive domestic <strong>and</strong>
Beginning this year, Psiana will be solid- international route
ly in the bLick. Revenue is expected to be networks .
one aillionwon ($13 billion), says the This partnership is the
chairman's younger brother, Park Sam-Koo, most comprehensive of anv internawho
is Asianas president <strong>and</strong> CEO . tional code-share agreement within the
At the same time, Asiana is pushing hard Pacific Rim to date, Park says .
to nearly double its fleet to 60 aircraft by "W e are committed to linking the Asia
the year 2000 . It has 38 aircraft, all of today with the world of tomorrow,
Boeings, including six state-of-the-art B747- retaining our important traditions <strong>and</strong> her-
400s, 20 B737s, ten B767Ps <strong>and</strong> two itage as we look to the future, <strong>and</strong> offering a
B747Fs, according to President Park . bridge to the vast <strong>business</strong> <strong>and</strong> travel
The upstart Asiana boldly challenged the resources of all our destinations in the
much bigger Korean Air (K4L) <strong>and</strong> man- world's fastest-growing region," says Park,
aged to snare a third of South Korea's who boldly ordered a complete smoking
domestic market <strong>and</strong> 17 .5% of the inrarna- ban on all domestic <strong>and</strong> international flights
tional traffic out of Seoul . Last year, it car- early this year.
ried 5 .74 million domestic passengers <strong>and</strong> "The reaction to the smoking ban is sur-
1 .98 million international passengers. prisingly favorable," he says, although lie
Today Asiana flies from Seoul to ten appears rueful at having lost a $3 million-acities
in Japan, two in China, <strong>and</strong> eight year cigarerte sales <strong>business</strong> aboard the
U.S . descirrations: Detroit. Guam, Hono- planes .
lulu, Los Angeles, New York, Saipan, San Business prospects are bright in Korea as
Francisco <strong>and</strong> Seartle . affluent Koreans take vacations abroad in
It also ser:es five countries in Southeast increasing numbers . More than three mil-
Asia, as well as the Russian port city of lion Koreans traveled overseas last year, <strong>and</strong>
Khabarovsk, not to mention domestic that number is expected to grow 10% to
flights connecting 12 cities across the 20% a year .
country. To become a top international airline,
A .siana is set to open a new route to Asiana is striving to provide the highest-
Europe Europe in November <strong>and</strong> is exploring quality service, <strong>and</strong> ensure maximum connew
opportunities in Australia <strong>and</strong> the venience, comfort <strong>and</strong> reliability.
Middle East. Kumho was founded in 1946 when
A year ago, Asiana signed a comprehen- Park's ra[her, Park In-Chtm, starred a twosive
alliance with Northwest Airlines, head- taxicab <strong>business</strong> in the southwestern provin-
Mr. Park
Sam-Koo,
President &
CEO, Asiana
Airlines
"We
are commit*.ed
to
linkina the Asia of
today with the world
of tomorrow, retaining
our important traditions
<strong>and</strong> heritage as
we look to the
future ."
cial cir,v of Kwangju, which grew into the
countr,vs largest inrercity bus companv . By
the 1960s, he was making auto tirea steel
<strong>and</strong> consumer electronics <strong>and</strong> engaging in
overseas consrmction .
Kumho today is thar nation's 11thlargest
<strong>business</strong> conglomerate, running 24
subsidiaries, including chemicals <strong>and</strong>
petrochemicals, with annual revenues of
83 .5 billion .
Asiana, however, will soon become
Kumho's top core <strong>business</strong>, Park says .
His immediate goal? To see Asiana
named by Air Transport Lf/orld as Airline of
the Yeaz in 1998, when ,•lsiana celebrates its
tenth anniversarv.
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http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/agf97d00/pdf