Korean Air's unused mileage deferred revenue exceeds KRW 3 trillion... Utilization rate has fallen for two consecutive years

(Daejeon = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Jun-beom = Korean Air's deferred revenue related to unused mileage exceeded 3 trillion won in the first half of this year, but the rate of mileage ticket use was found to have decreased for two consecutive years.

According to data submitted through the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport by Rep. Jang Jong-tae of the Democratic Party of Korea (Daejeon Seo-gu-gap), a member of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee of the National Assembly, on the 27th, Korean Air's deferred mileage revenue was calculated to be KRW 3.1199 trillion at the end of the first half of this year.

This is an increase of 275.4 billion won (9.7%) from 2.8445 trillion won at the end of last year.

Deferred mileage revenue is an amount that reflects in accounting the service obligation that the airline must provide in the future in relation to mileage that has not been used by customers.

Asiana Airlines' deferred mileage revenue at the end of last year was KRW 936.1 billion, and the combined deferred revenue of the two airlines at the time amounted to KRW 3.7806 trillion.

On the other hand, the performance of airline tickets using mileage decreased.

The proportion of mileage ticket use in Korean Air's overall passenger transportation performance fell for two consecutive years, from 11.8% in 2023 to 11% in 2024 and 10.3% last year.

Last year, the total distance traveled by mileage ticket users was 8.06 billion km, down 5.1% from 8.435 billion km the previous year.

Korean Air explained that mileage accumulation increased due to increased travel demand, and that members who wanted to observe the operation plan after integration with Asiana Airlines postponed the use of mileage, which contributed to the increase in deferred revenue.

In addition, it is said that mileage ticket usage performance is higher than in 2019 before COVID-19.

Rep. Jang said, “Mileage is a benefit accumulated by customers purchasing airline tickets and using affiliate services, so they should be able to actually use it,” and added, “Opportunities to use bonus flights on routes and times with high consumer demand must be expanded.”