“The Delta and Korean Air JV means increased joint belly cargo capacity across the trans-Pacific as well as future co-location of key facilities, world-class reliability and the industry’s best customer service,” said Shawn Cole, Delta’s Vice President – Cargo. “The partnership also means a host of new destinations with commercial and logistics solutions across Asia and North America for these important markets.”
The joint venture routes, on which Delta and Korean Air carried 268 million tons of belly cargo in 2017, will allow customers to work with either carrier to transport shipments across a broad network of flights. The expansive combined network formed by this partnership gives Delta and Korean Air’s shared customers access to more than 290 destinations in the Americas and more than 80 in Asia.
The new joint venture builds on nearly two decades of close partnership between Korean Air and Delta; both were founding members of the SkyTeam global airline alliance.
Delta and Korean Air currently transport a diverse range of cargo products in the trans-Pacific market. From the U.S., semi-conductor production facilities, perishables and e-commerce shipments are some of the key products shipped to Seoul and throughout Asia. In the reverse direction mobile phones, automobile parts and other electronics are carried.
Earlier this year, Delta and Korean Air co-located into the new, state-of-the-art Terminal 2 at Seoul’s Incheon International Airport. This means substantially reduced connecting times for both passengers and cargo, and one-roof warehousing is planned for the airport as well. As one of the world’s largest airports, Incheon has among the fastest connection times in the region. It has been named among the best airports in the world for more than a decade by Airports Council International, as well as the world's cleanest airport and the world's best international transit airport by Skytrax.