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** KE 073, 074 - Seoul to Toronto
** KE 073, 074 - Seoul to Toronto
** KE 081, 082 - Seoul to New York-JFK
** KE 081, 082 - Seoul to New York-JFK
** KE 085, 086 - Seoul to New York-JFK
* KE 601-700 - Korea to Asia except Japan
* KE 601-700 - Korea to Asia except Japan
** KE 603, 604, 605, 606, 607, 608 - Seoul to Hong Kong
** KE 603, 604, 605, 606, 607, 608 - Seoul to Hong Kong

Revision as of 10:50, 18 September 2006

Korean Air
File:Korean Air logo.png
IATA ICAO Callsign
KE KAL Koreanair
Founded1962 (privatized 1969)
HubsIncheon Int'l Airport
Gimpo International Airport
Focus citiesGimhae International Airport
Jeju International Airport
Frequent-flyer programSKYPASS
AllianceSkyTeam
Fleet size117
Destinations105 incl. cargo
Parent companyKorean Air ITDC
HeadquartersSeoul, Republic of Korea
Key peopleCho Yangho (Chairman and CEO)
Websitehttp://www.koreanair.com

Korean Air (KRX: 003490) is the largest airline based in South Korea. One of the largest airlines in Asia, it operates a network that links Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, North America, and (formerly to) South America to its hub at Incheon International Airport and its domestic hub at Gimpo International Airport (formerly Kimpo International Airport). The airline competes with the smaller, younger fleet of Asiana Airlines.

In recent years, Korean Air has upgraded its fleet and services and has won international acclaims and awards. With its excellent financial performance in 2005, Korean Air received the "Phoenix Award" from Air Transport World (ATW) for its success in overcoming challenges in the global airline industry. It has been named one of Asia's best airlines by Time readers and twice has won the coveted Mercury Award for its inflight catering.

History

Template:Koreanname Korean Air began in 1962 as Korean Air Lines and was owned by the South Korean Government. It replaced the former Korean carrier Korean National Airlines. In 1969 KAL was acquired by the Hanjin Transport Group and became privately owned.

International flights to Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Seattle, United States were flown with Boeing 707s until the airline was privatized. In 1973, KAL introduced Boeing 747s on their Pacific routes and started a European service to Paris using the 707s. KAL was also Airbus's first customer outside of Europe. A blue-top livery was introduced in 1984 and the airline's name changed to Korean Air. In 1986 Korean Air became the first airline to use the new MD-11 to supplement its new fleet of Boeing 747-400s. As Korean Air grew, its MD-11 jets became used only as freighters (in addition to 747 freighters). Korean Air flies to the most US destinations of any Asian carrier (10, one pending). Korean Air currently owns 25% of Okay Airways, a Tianjin, PRC-based airline.

Safety record

Korean Air Boeing 747

From mid 1980s to the late 1990s, Korean Air had safety problems. In fact, the SkyTeam alliance briefly removed Korean Air from its code share program until demonstrable changes were presented to the alliance. The US Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates access to the American airspace, warned the Korean Air management team that its access to the American airports would be restricted unless drastic changes were forthcoming. The U.S. military and the State department advised its personnel to avoid taking Korean Air if other commercial alternatives were available. The competing carrier, Asiana Airlines, benefited tremendously from the dramatic drop in Korean Air's reputation as its safety record was significantly better than Korean Air's. This is not surprising since Asiana was a new airline.

Since the turn of the century, Korean Air has demonstrated steady improvement in safety standards and has gradually been removed from safety watch lists. Korean Air became profitable again and became Asia's fifth largest carrier.

Flight Number

  • KE 001-100 - Korea to America
    • KE 001, 002 - Seoul to Los Angeles via Tokyo-Narita
    • KE 011, 012, 015, 016, 017, 018 - Seoul to Los Angeles
    • KE 009, 010 - Seoul to Las Vegas [starts September 23, 2006]
    • KE 023, 024 - Seoul to San Francisco
    • KE 031, 032 - Seoul to Dallas
    • KE 035, 036 - Seoul to Atlanta
    • KE 038, 039 - Seoul to Chicago-O'Hare
    • KE 051, 052 - Seoul to Honolulu
    • KE 071, 072 - Seoul to Vancouver
    • KE 073, 074 - Seoul to Toronto
    • KE 081, 082 - Seoul to New York-JFK
    • KE 085, 086 - Seoul to New York-JFK
  • KE 601-700 - Korea to Asia except Japan
    • KE 603, 604, 605, 606, 607, 608 - Seoul to Hong Kong
    • KE 651, 652 - Seoul to Bangkok
    • KE 681, 682 - Seoul to Ho Chi Minh
  • KE 701-800 - Korea to Japan
    • KE 701, 702, 703, 704, 705, 706 - Seoul to Tokyo-Narita
    • KE6707,6708 - Seoul-Gimpo to Tokyo-Haneda
    • KE6709,6710 - Seoul-Gimpo to Tokyo-Haneda
  • KE 901-999 - Korea to Europe, Middle East and Africa
    • KE 901, 902 - Seoul to Paris
    • KE 905, 906 - Seoul to Frankfurt
    • KE 907, 908 - Seoul to London-Heathrow
    • KE 927, 928 - Seoul to Rome
    • KE 935, 936 - Seoul to Prague

Code sharing

The airline has code-share agreements with the following airlines (as of April 2006):

Korean Air is a founding partner in SkyTeam, the world's second largest alliance.

Korean Air is an airline partner of Skywards, the frequent flyer program for Emirates and Sri Lankan Airlines. Skywards members can earn miles for flying Korean Air and can redeem miles for free flights.

Fleet

Passenger fleet

The Korean Air passenger fleet consists of the following aircraft as of July 2006:

Korean Air Fleet
Type Total Passengers
(First*/Prestige*/Economy)
Routes Notes
Airbus A300-600 10 A: 276 (24/252)

B: 266 (24/242)

Domestic and International Flights
Airbus A330-200 3 258 (6/18/234) International Flights
Airbus A330-300 16 A: 296 (12/28/256)

B: 352 (24/328)

International and Domestic Flights
Airbus A380 (5 On Order) Entry Into Service: 2007
Boeing 737-800 14 A: 164 (8/156)

B: 149 (8/141)

Domestic and International Flights
Boeing 737-900 15 188 (8/180) Domestic and International Flights
Boeing 747-400 24
(1 On Order)
A: 384 (16/58/310)

B: 376 (12/58/306)

International Flights
Boeing 777-200 11
(4 On Order)
A: 261 (8/28/225)

B: 301 (12/28/261)

International Flights
Boeing 777-300 4 376 (12/28/336) International Flights
Boeing 787 (10 On Order) May replace the A300-600
Entry Into Service: 2009

*First Class is offered on domestic and short-haul Flights. Prestige Class is offered on international medium-long haul flights.

Cargo fleet

The Korean Air cargo fleet consists of the following aircraft as of July 2006:

Type Total Routes Notes
Boeing 747-400F 17
Boeing 747F 1

The average age of the Korean Air fleet is 7.5 years as of July 2006. Korean Air operates 99 passenger aircraft, and 18 cargo aircraft, for a total of 117 planes.

On 31 May 2005 Korean Air signed an agreement on an additional order for a Boeing 747-400ERF, converting an option taken out in 2004, bringing total Korean Air orders for the aircraft to eight, of which five have been delivered. The new aircraft is scheduled for delivery in May 2006 (ref: Air International, July 2005).

Korean Air Cargo has been ranked the world's top commercial airline cargo operation by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for 2 consecutive year 2004~2005. During 2005, Korean Air recorded 7.982 billion FTK topping the charts.

See also