SEOUL: South Korea's biggest airline, Korean Air, posted a second quarter net profit of 347 billion won ($338 million), helped by a rise in passenger and cargo traffic.

The airline had suffered a net loss of 359 billion won in the same period last year.

It still made a second-quarter operating loss, but the deficit was narrowed to 19.7 billion won from 50.8 billion won a year earlier. Sales rose 2.1 percent year-on-year to 2.89 trillion won.

Along with foreign exchange gains, the carrier said air traffic increased in the second quarter thanks to an economic recovery in the United States and Europe.