KAI, Korean Air log soaring sales of flagship aircraft parts products

The Korea Aerospace Industry and Korean Air have seen sales of aircraft parts grow significantly as they cut into the booming private aircraft market.

At the Korean Air's Busan Tech Center, employees are assembling an A320 sharklet, a structure mounted on the main wingtip of the aircraft. [KOREAN AIR]

The Korea Aerospace Industry (KAI) and Korean Air are seeing a significant increase in the sales of their flagship aircraft parts products, capitalizing on the booming global private aircraft market traditionally dominated by companies from Europe and the U.S.

The two corporations' main offerings, which are purchased by major aircraft manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing, include plane doors and fuselage components as well as primarily wing parts like the wing ribs, the frames of plane wings; wing tips, the horizontal structures at the ends of wings; and winglets, the vertical structures at the tips.

The KAI's sales in the second quarter of this year reached 230.9 billion won ($167.95 million), up 22.4 percent from the same period last year. Supplies to Airbus and Boeing accounted for 36.3 percent and 10.7 percent of these sales, respectively, as the KAI claimed the title of largest private plane parts supplier in the nation.

On top of wing and fuselage components for large aircraft, the KAI manufactures parts for small planes. Last year, this business segment accounted for about 20 percent of the company's sales at 805.9 billion won. The KAI plans to increase this to 2 trillion won by 2030 to account for 30 percent of total sales.

The KAI is also venturing into the urban air mobility (UAM) parts business. In April, it signed a structural supply contract worth approximately 1 trillion won with Eve Air Mobility, a UAM specialist subsidiary of Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer, for electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft.

Korean Air is also making significant strides in the commercial aircraft manufacturing market.

The carrier is currently supplying five key structural parts, including wingtips, for the Boeing 787. To date, Korean Air components have been installed on over 1,200 Boeing 787 aircraft. Korean Air-made parts are also used by Airbus.

The top Korean airline's business with the two plane makers is continuing apace with the recent signing of a memorandum of understanding with Boeing to purchase 20 777-9 and 30 787-10 aircraft. It plans to introduce 33 Airbus A350 and 50 A321 NEO aircraft, aiming to expand its fleet to 203 state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly aircraft by 2034.

BY PARK YOUNG-WOO [yoon.seungjin@joongang.co.kr]