Korean Air Cargo

Korean Air Cargo is the freight division of Korean Air Lines Co., Ltd. It is therefore not a separate airline but the cargo identity of the South Korean operator, trading under IATA code KE, ICAO code KAL and AWB prefix 180. The company has existed since 1969; its cargo business started in 1971 with the Seoul–Los Angeles route, the first transpacific service flown by a Korean carrier. The operating model rests on two pillars. First, Korean Air runs its own full freighters of the Boeing 747-8F, Boeing 747-400ERF and Boeing 777F types. All three freighter types offer ventilation and temperature control; the control range is 4 to 29 degrees Celsius on the 747-8F and the 747-400ERF, and 4 to 27 degrees Celsius on the 777F. Second, the company markets belly capacity across its passenger fleet, including the Boeing 747-8i, 777-200 and 777-300, 787-9 and 787-10, as well as the Airbus A380, A350-900, A330-200, A330-300 and A321neo. The hub is Incheon Airport near Seoul (ICN), where Korean Air operates its own cargo terminal and handles both import and export itself. One point matters for forwarders: the carrier issues its shipments under AWB prefix 180, and certain agent portal functions such as automatic booking confirmation are supported only for air waybills carrying that prefix. The product structure is split into Express and Express-Heavy for time-critical shipments, Customized for contracted just-in-time traffic, General for standard freight and Specialized for special cargo. Specialized breaks down into seven sub-brands: Big, DGR, Fresh, Live, Safe, Wheels and Pharma. For pharmaceutical traffic, Korean Air has held IATA CEIV Pharma certification since June 2019. For advance manifest reporting, the carrier supports the US AMS system among others, plus the corresponding procedures for Canada, Indonesia and India.