[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] Asiana Airlines has restored all seven aircraft that were converted into cargo planes during the COVID-19 period back to passenger planes.
On the 16th, Asiana Airlines announced that it had completed the restoration work on the last converted cargo plane, an A330 aircraft, by installing 260 economy seats and returning it to a passenger plane.
In response to the recent recovery in international flight demand, the airline plans to restore all previously converted A350 and A330 cargo planes back to passenger planes to prepare for a full reopening.
To meet the increased cargo demand during the COVID-19 pandemic, Asiana Airlines converted A350 passenger planes into cargo planes in September 2020, enabling each flight to carry 23 tons of cargo.
Following the global increase in air cargo demand, a total of seven aircraft (four A350s and three A330s) were converted for exclusive cargo use and operated more than 500 flights per converted plane. Since the first cargo plane conversion, a total of 70,000 tons of cargo has been transported, generating approximately 370 billion KRW in additional revenue.
In particular, the converted cargo planes were actively deployed on high-demand transpacific routes, resulting in about 300 billion KRW in additional revenue. The volume of cargo such as ▲IT and electronic device parts ▲e-commerce exports ▲personal protective equipment was increased, achieving approximately 25% more revenue compared to the pre-COVID period.
Meanwhile, through this restoration work, Asiana Airlines also completed additional safety inspections on the reinstalled seats to ensure passenger safety and convenience. The restored passenger planes will undergo heavy maintenance for safer operation before being deployed on Southeast Asia and Japan routes.
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