SEOUL: South Korea’s full service carriers, including Korean Air Lines Co, are predicted to post strong earnings in the third quarter of the year on the back of a rise in air cargo rates, analysts said.

       In a consensus estimate of 10 analysts by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency, Korean Air is forecast to record 176.8 billion won (US$150mil or RM628.27mil) in operating profit in the July-September period, a turnaround from an operating loss of 31.4 billion won (RM111.44mil) in the same period a year ago.

       Korean Air’s sales are expected to come to 2.74 trillion won (RM9.72bil) in the third quarter, up 30% from a year ago. The second-largest carrier, Asiana Airlines Inc, is expected to reach 42 billion won (RM149.05mil) in operating profit in the third quarter. ― The Korea Herald/ANN