Korean Air seeks new markets after betting the house on N America, seemingly without SkyTeam support

Korean Air in Sep-2013 deployed its A380 to Atlanta, making the city the third in North America to see Korean Air's A380 service. Like fellow SkyTeam member, Air France, Korean is focussing much of its A380 attention on US points - as befits Korean Air's status as the largest Asian airline in North America, despite its population of only 50 million.

But Korean Air is realising this position comes with the corollary of heavy exposure to the North American market. Some 36% of its ASKs are on North American routes, a single market proportion that no other Asian carrier applies.

Airlines are looking to reduce risk more than ever, and Korean Air is no different: the carrier is looking for new markets it can build with time to diversify itself away from North America. Yet North America will not lose prominence anytime soon for Korean Air. This is partially due to North America's strength but also Korean Air's weakness so far in finding new markets. It has entered Nairobi and purchased CSA Czech Airlines, both moves that will need considerable time to mature. Korean Air has broken Asian airline inertia and is thinking creatively - in some areas, at least - but now needs to bed down the strategy.