Delta Cargo, Korean Air announce airfreight JV for trans-Pacific routes

Today, Delta Cargo and Korean Air Cargo launch a joint-venture partnership to share belly capacity and facilities in a move to capture demand for trans-Pacific airfreight services.

The partnership introduces Korean Air to Delta’s intercontinental U.S. market, which will align it to import products, such as cell-phones, auto parts and electronics to North America. Heading west, Delta anticipates carrying perishables and various e-commerce goods from the Americas. Combined, the joint network will encompass 290 destinations in the Americas and more than 80 in Asia.

“The partnership also means a host of new destinations with commercial and logistics solutions across Asia and North America for these important markets,” said Shawn Cole, vice president of Delta Cargo.

The agreement is an expansion of a decade-long relationship between the two carriers – both founding members of the SkyTeam global airline alliance, which has 20 members, including Air France-KLM, AeroMexico and China Eastern Airlines.

Earlier this year, Delta and Korean Air co-located into the new Terminal 2 at Seoul’s Incheon International Airport (ICN), which the airlines said substantially reduced connection times and plan to move under one roof to warehouse cargo at the Asia-gateway hub.