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

Code Data

IATA Code: KE
ICAO Code: KAL
Callsign: Korean Air

History

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. A new 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).

Incidents and Accidents

On April 20, 1978, Soviet Sukhoi Su-15TM 'Flagon' interceptors of the VVS shot down Korean Air Flight 902, a 707, near Murmansk after a navigation error led the plane off-course. The VVS at first thought the aircraft was a 747, but then thought it was a U.S. Air Force RC-135. Two passengers died as a result.[1]

The incident would replay itself when, in September 1983, Soviet fighter planes shot down Korean Air Flight 007, a 747, which was on a New York-Anchorage-Seoul flight, on the Anchorage to Seoul segment. All 269 people on board were killed. The civilian airliner went hundreds of miles off course and passed over restricted Siberian territory. The event was denounced by the US Reagan administration as a deliberate and wanton act of murder by an "evil empire."

On 29 November 1987, Korean Air Flight 858, which was travelling on an Abu Dhabi-Bangkok-Seoul route was destroyed by a terrorist bomb while flying the Abu Dhabi-Bangkok leg.

On 6 August 1997, Korean Air Flight 801 crashed into Nimitz Hill about 3 miles (5 km) short of Hagåtña, Guam, killing 228 of the 254 people on board.

On 11 September 2001, after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, Korean Air Flight 85, a 747 on a Seoul-Anchorage-New York route, was intercepted by U.S. and Canadian fighter jets and forced to land at Whitehorse International Airport during Operation Yellow Ribbon on fears that the plane might have been hijacked. However, it wasn't the case; the plane was low on fuel. However, those who witnessed the plane's landing said that they saw the RCMP order the crew out at gunpoint. The entire misunderstanding was caused by a malfunctioning transponsder.

Fleet

The Korean Air fleet consists of the following aircraft (at March 2005):

10 Airbus A300B4
3 Airbus A330-200
16 Airbus A330-300
14 Boeing 737-800
14 Boeing 737-900 (further 1 on order)
2 Boeing 747-200
2 Boeing 747-300
39 Boeing 747-400 (further 2 on order)
9 Boeing 777-200 (further 2 on order)
4 Boeing 777-300
3 McDonnell Douglas MD-11

Korean Air has ordered 5 Airbus A380 aircraft and has options on a further 3 aircraft. The first A380 will be delivered before the end of 2007 and the others will be added between then and 2009 (ref: Airliner World, March 2005).

On April 11 2005, the airline ordered 10 Boeing 787 aircraft with an option for an additional 10 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).

Destinations

See Korean Air destinations

External Links

Its safety record rates a “B", the second highest grade possible, according to Air Rankings Online (see rankings at Airline Rankings).

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