Asiana Airlines said Wednesday that it would be focusing on strengthening its specialized freight services as a future driver of growth.

In the first half of 2017, Asiana saw 598.5 billion won ($529 million) in revenue from freight services, up over 100 billion won from last year.

“The rise was mainly due to a rise in freight demand in the IT sector,” said an official with Asiana Airlines. “We do not currently have plans to add freight aircraft, but we will be flexible in using space on freight and passenger planes to meet client demand.”

In particular, Asiana is looking to increase freight volume for premium freight moving cargo, such as live animals and plants, biomedical products and semiconductor equipment.

According to the official, the company expects to surpass its original annual goal of 1.14 trillion won in revenue from freight.

Asiana is also preparing to launch an exclusive air freight system next July, after announcing last November that it will be implementing the smart iCargo system. 

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)