Korean Air Co., Ltd. (),

operating as A trade name, trading name, or business name, is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is a "fictitious" business name. Registering the fictitious name w ...

Korean Air (Korean Air Lines before 1984), is the

flag carrier A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by the government for international operations. Hist ...

of South Korea and its largest airline based on fleet size, international destinations and international flights. The present-day Korean Air was established on March 1, 1969, after the

Hanjin Group The Hanjin Group () is a South Korean chaebol. The group has various industries covered from transportation and airlines to hotels, tourism, and airport businesses, and one of the largest chaebols in Korea. The group includes Korean Air (KAL), ...

acquired government-owned Korean Air Lines, which had operated since June 1962. Korean Air is a founding member of the

airline alliance An airline alliance is an aviation industry arrangement between two or more airlines agreeing to cooperate on a substantial level. Alliances may provide marketing branding to facilitate travelers making inter-airline codeshare connections within c ...

SkyTeam SkyTeam is one of the world's three major airline alliances. Founded in June 2000, SkyTeam was the last of the three alliances to be formed, the first two being Star Alliance and Oneworld, respectively. Its annual passenger count is 630 million ...

and

SkyTeam Cargo SkyTeam Cargo is a global cargo alliance in which all members are also members of the SkyTeam airline alliance. SkyTeam Cargo is the largest cargo alliance; it competes with the WOW Alliance. History Following the founding of the airline allia ...

. It is one of the 10 airlines ranked 5-star airline, and top 20 airlines in the world in terms of passengers carried and is also one of the top-ranked international cargo airlines. Korean Air's international passenger division and related subsidiary cargo division together serve 126 cities in 44 countries. Its domestic division serves 13 destinations. The airline's global headquarters is located in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. The airline had approximately 20,540 employees as of December 2014. The airline was once known as "an industry pariah, notorious for fatal crashes" due to its extremely poor safety record and being one of the world's most dangerous airlines with a large number of incidents and accidents. The airline's reputation has become less checkered as it has focused investment on improving its safety record including by hiring consultants from

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...

and

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...

. Since 1970, 17 Korean Air aircraft have been written off in serious incidents and accidents with the loss of 750 lives. Korean culture has been cited by experts as a potential factor for the airline's struggles with safety prior to the 2000s, when the airline hired a former high level employee with

to reform KAL safety culture.

History

Douglas DC-4-1009 Korean National Airlines HL-108

Founding

In 1962,

government of the Republic of Korea The Government of South Korea is the union government of the Republic of Korea, created by the Constitution of South Korea as the executive, legislative and judicial authority of the republic. The president acts as the head of state and is the ...

acquired

Korean National Airlines Korean National Airlines (KNA) was the first (commercial cargo and passenger) air carrier in Korea. Established in 1946 and incorporated in 1948 in South Korea, and its first official passenger flight was from Seoul to Pusan on October 30, 1948 ...

, which was founded in 1946, and changed its name to Korean Air Lines to become a state-owned airline. On 1 March 1969, the

acquired the state-owned airline and it is the beginning of Korean Air. Long-haul trans-pacific freight operations were introduced on April 26, 1971, followed by passenger services to

Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...

on April 19, 1972.

Expansion

Korean Air operated international flights to destinations such as Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, and Los Angeles with

Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...

s until the introduction of the

Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...

in 1973. In that year, the airline introduced Boeing 747s on its trans-Pacific routes and started a European service to Paris, France using the 707 and then

McDonnell Douglas DC-10 The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is an American trijet wide-body aircraft manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 was intended to succeed the DC-8 for long- range flights. It first flew on August 29, 1970; it was introduced on August 5, 197 ...

. In 1975, the airline became one of the earliest Asian airlines to operate

Airbus Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace manufacturer, aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft througho ...

aircraft with the purchase of three

Airbus A300 The Airbus A300 is a wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Airbus. In September 1967, aircraft manufacturers in the United Kingdom, France, and West Germany signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a large airliner. West ...

s, which were put into immediate service on Asian routes. In 1981, Korean Air opened own cargo terminal at

. Since South Korean aircraft were prohibited from flying in the

airspace Airspace is the portion of the atmosphere controlled by a country above its territory, including its territorial waters or, more generally, any specific three-dimensional portion of the atmosphere. It is not the same as aerospace, which is the ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

and the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

at the time, the European routes had to be designed eastbound from South Korea, such as

Anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Change to 'Korean Air'

A blue-top, silver and redesigned

livery A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery will often have elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...

with a new corporate "Korean Air" logo featuring a stylized

Taegeuk ''Taegeuk'' (, ) is a Korean term cognate with the Chinese term '' Taiji'' ( Wade-Giles spelling: ''T'ai-chi''), meaning "supreme ultimate", although it can also be translated as "great polarity / duality". The symbol was chosen for the desig ...

design was introduced on March 1, 1984, and the airline's name changed to Korean Air from Korean Air Lines. This livery was introduced on its MD-80s and

Boeing 747-300 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...

s. It was designed in cooperation between Korean Air and

. In the 1990s, Korean Air became the first airline to use the new

McDonnell Douglas MD-11 The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 is an American tri-jet wide-body airliner manufactured by American McDonnell Douglas (MDC) and later by Boeing. Following DC-10 development studies, the MD-11 program was launched on December 30, 1986. Assembly of t ...

to supplement its new fleet of

Boeing 747-400 The Boeing 747-400 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, an advanced variant of the initial Boeing 747. The "Advanced Series 300" was announced at the September 1984 Farnborough Airshow, targeting ...

aircraft; however, the MD-11 did not meet the airline's performance requirements and they were eventually converted to freighters. Some older 747 aircraft were also converted for freight service. In the 1984, Korean Air's head office was in the KAL Building on

Namdaemunno Namdaemunno, also known as Namdaemun-ro, is a major thoroughfare in the central districts of Seoul, South Korea and a two-way road consisting of 8 lanes. With a 2 km length and a 40∼50m width, Namdaemunno originates at Bosingak in Jongno-g ...

, Jung-gu, Seoul.

Checkered safety culture and record

Korean Air was once notorious for its abysmal safety record and high rate of fatal crashes. In 1999, Korea's President

Kim Dae-jung Kim Dae-jung (; ; 6 January 192418 August 2009), was a South Korea, South Korean politician and activist who served as the eighth president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003. He was a 2000 Nobel Peace Prize recipient for his work for democra ...

described the airline's safety record as "an embarrassment to the nation" and chose Korean Air's smaller rival, Asiana, for a flight to the United States. Between 1970 and 1999, Korean Air wrote off 16 aircraft due to serious incidents and accidents with the loss of over 700 lives. In the case of

Korean Air Flight 801 Korean Air Flight 801 (KE801, KAL801) was a scheduled international passenger flight operated by Korean Air. The flight crashed on August 6, 1997, on approach to Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport, in the United States territory of Guam, k ...

, the

National Transportation Safety Board The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incid ...

unanimously concluded that the airline's inadequate pilot training contributed to the pilot error that caused the fatal crash. In 1999,

suspended its code-sharing relationship with Korean Air explicitly citing its poor safety record following the fatal crash of

Korean Air Cargo Flight 6316 Korean Air Cargo Flight 6316 (KE6316/KAL6316) was a scheduled Korean Air Cargo freight flight from Shanghai to Seoul. On 15 April 1999, the McDonnell Douglas MD-11F operating the route, registered as HL7373, crashed in Xinzhuang, Shanghai shortl ...

. It marked the first time safety was explicitly cited as the reason for stopping a major code-sharing alliance by an airline. Other partners including

Air Canada Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada by the size and passengers carried. Air Canada maintains its headquarters in the borough of Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and ...

and

Air France Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global air ...

followed suit. In 2001, the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

downgraded South Korea's aviation safety rating and blocked South Korean carriers from expanding into the United States after the country and its carriers failed to improve sufficiently following a warning the previous year. The move was driven by the country's lax oversight of its carriers including Korean Air. The rating has since been restored as the airline invested billions of dollars to improve safety, upgrade its fleet, install new technology and overhaul its corporate culture including hiring consultants from

and

. In 2002, the ''New York Times'' noted that Korean Air had been removed from many "shun lists". Korean Air Boeing 747SP at Basle - January 1985

Korean Air takes delivery of its first A380 at Toulouse Blagnac International Airport

Early 21st century

On 23 June 2000, along with

Aeroméxico Aerovías de México, S.A. de C.V. () operating as Aeroméxico (; stylized as AM), is the flag carrier airline of Mexico, based in Mexico City. It operates scheduled services to more than 90 destinations in Mexico; North, South and Central Ame ...

and

, Korean Air founded world's major

and

, founded on 28 September 2000. On June 5, 2007, Korean Air said that it would create a new low-cost carrier called

Jin Air Jin Air Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean low-cost airline. As of April 2018 it operates flights to six domestic cities and 26 international destinations. It launched its first long haul route, between Incheon and Honolulu, in December 2015. It has ...

in Korea to compete with Korea's

KTX Korea Train eXpress (), often known as KTX (), is South Korea's high-speed rail system, operated by Korail. Construction began on the high-speed line from Seoul to Busan in 1992. KTX services were launched on April 1, 2004. From Seoul Station the ...

high-speed railway network system, which offered cheaper fares and less stringent security procedures compared to air travel. Jin Air started scheduled passenger service on July 17, 2008. Korean Air announced that some of its 737s and A300s would be given to Jin Air. In mid-2010, a co-marketing deal with games company

Blizzard Entertainment Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher based in Irvine, California. A subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, the company was founded on February 8, 1991, under the name Silicon & Synapse, Inc. by three graduat ...

sent a

747-400 The Boeing 747-400 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, an advanced variant of the initial Boeing 747. The "Advanced Series 300" was announced at the September 1984 Farnborough Airshow, targeting ...

and a

737-900 The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG, or 737 Next Gen, is a narrow-body aircraft powered by two jet engines and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third generation derivative of the Boein ...

taking to the skies wrapped in

StarCraft II ''StarCraft II'' is a military science fiction video game created by Blizzard Entertainment as a sequel to the successful ''StarCraft'' video game released in 1998. Set in a fictional future, the game centers on a galactic struggle for dominance ...

branding. In August 2010, Korean Air announced heavy second-quarter losses despite record-high revenue. In August 2010, Hanjin Group, the parent of KAL, opened a new cargo terminal at

Navoi Navoiy (), also spelled Navoi, is a city and the capital of Navoiy Region in the southwestern part of Uzbekistan. Administratively, it is a district-level city, that includes the urban-type settlement Tinchlik. It is located at latitude 40° 5' 4 ...

in Uzbekistan, which will become a cargo hub with regular Incheon-Navoi-Milan flights. In 2013, Korean Air acquired a 44% stake in

Czech Airlines Czech Airlines j.s.c. (abbreviation: ČSA, cz, České Aerolinie, a.s.) is the flag carrier of the Czech Republic. Its head office is located in the Vokovice area of Prague's 6th district and its hub is Václav Havel Airport Prague. The compa ...

. It sold the stake in October 2017. On May 1, 2018, the airline launched a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...

partnership with

. In 2019, Korean Air began playing a

safety video A pre-flight safety briefing (also known as a pre-flight demonstration, in-flight safety briefing, in-flight safety demonstration, safety instructions, or simply the safety video) is a detailed explanation given before take-off to airline passeng ...

with the

K-pop K-pop (), short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, experimental, rock, jazz, gos ...

group SuperM. It featured the song "Let's go everywhere", which was to be released as a single. The airline also featured the group on a livery sported by a Boeing 777-300ER, with registration HL8010.

Nut rage incident

Cho Hyun-Ah, also known as "Heather Cho", is the daughter of then-chairman

Cho Yang-ho Cho Yang-ho (; sometimes written Y. H. Cho; 8 March 1949 – 8 April 2019)Fred A. Bernstein ''The New York Times'', June 7, 2009, Accessed June 8, 2009. was a South Korean businessman who was the chairman and chief executive officer of Korean Ai ...

. She resigned from some of her duties in late 2014 after she ordered a Korean Air jet to return to the gate to allow a flight attendant to be removed from the aircraft. The attendant had served Cho nuts in a bag instead of on a plate. As a result of further fallout, Cho Hyun-Ah was later arrested by Korean authorities for violating South Korea's aviation safety laws.

Merger of Asiana Airlines

In November 2020 during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the

South Korean Government The Government of South Korea is the union government of the South Korea, Republic of Korea, created by the Constitution of South Korea as the executive, legislative and judicial authority of the republic. The president acts as the head of sta ...

officially announced that Korean Air will acquire

Asiana Airlines Asiana Airlines Inc. ( ) is a South Korean airline headquartered in Seoul.Home
." Asiana Airlines. Retrieved 13 September 2 ...

. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of the Republic of Korea will integrate subsidiaries

Air Busan Air Busan Co., Ltd., operating as Air Busan () is a low-cost airline based in Busanjin-gu, Busan, South Korea. It is a subsidiary of Asiana Airlines. The airline began its operation in 2007 as Busan International Airlines Company (); it launched ...

Air Seoul Air Seoul () is a South Korean low-cost carrier and a subsidiary of Asiana Airlines. The airline is based at Incheon International Airport in Seoul, from which it operates flights to international destinations. It launched operations on 11 J ...

and

to form a combined low-cost carrier which will focus on regional airports in Korea. In March 2021, KAL announced the merger with Asiana Airlines will be delayed as foreign authorities have not approved the deal. As of 2022, the deal has not been completed as essential countries including China, Japan, and the United States have not given their approval.

Corporate affairs and identity

Ownership

Korean Air is owned by

and it is majority controlled by Hanjin KAL Corporation. The owner family of Hanjin Group is still the airline's largest and controlling, shareholder; Cho Won-tae (Walter Cho), its current chairman and CEO, is the third generation of the family to lead the airline. As of 5 June 2020, Hanjin KAL holds 29.27% of Korean Air shares.

Hubs and headquarters

Incheon International Airport Incheon International Airport (IIA; ) (sometimes referred to as Seoul–Incheon International Airport) is the largest airport in South Korea. It is the primary airport serving the Seoul Capital Area and one of the largest and busiest airports ...

Terminal 2 and

Gimhae International Airport Gimhae International Airport (), commonly known as Gimhae Airport (formerly Kimhae International Airport) is located on the western end of Busan, South Korea. The name "Gimhae" comes from the nearby city of Gimhae. It opened in 1976. A new in ...

are Korean Air's international hubs. Korean Air's headquarters (대한항공 빌딩) is located in

Gonghang-dong Gonghang-dong is a '' dong'', neighbourhood of Gangseo-gu in Seoul, South Korea. The name ''gonghang'' literally means "airport," which is due to Gimpo Airport (김포공항, ) located in the area. Korean Air's headquarters, Korean Airport Servi ...

, Gangseo-gu in Seoul. "주소: 서울 특별시 강서구 공항동 1370번지 대현항공 빌딩" The company also maintains a satellite headquarters campus at

Incheon Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...

. Korean Air also has offices at

Gimpo International Airport Gimpo International Airport (), commonly known as Gimpo Airport , formerly rendered in English as Kimpo International Airport, is located in the far western end of Seoul, some west of the Central District of Seoul. Gimpo was the main interna ...

in Seoul. Korean Air's other hubs are at

Jeju International Airport Jeju International Airport () is the second largest airport in South Korea, just behind Incheon Airport in Incheon. It is located in the city of Jeju. The airport opened in 1968. Jeju International Airport serves many mainland destinations in ...

Jeju Jeju may refer to: * Jeju Island (Jejudo), an island near South Korea * Jeju Province (formerly transliterated Cheju), a province of South Korea comprising Jejudo **Jeju City, the biggest city on Jejudo **Jeju dog, a dog native to Jejudo ** Jeju l ...

and

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

. The maintenance facilities are located in Gimhae International Airport. The majority of Korean Air's pilots, ground staff, and flight attendants are based in Seoul and Busan.

Chaebol and nepotism

Korean Air has been cited as one of the examples of the South Korean "

chaebol A chaebol (, ; ) is a large industrial South Korean conglomerate run and controlled by an individual or family. A chaebol often consists of multiple diversified affiliates, controlled by a person or group whose power over the group often exc ...

" system, wherein corporate conglomerates, established with government support, overreach diverse branches of industry. For much of the time between the foundation of Korean Air as Korean National Airlines in 1946 and the foundation of

Asiana Airlines Asiana Airlines Inc. ( ) is a South Korean airline headquartered in Seoul.Home
." Asiana Airlines. Retrieved 13 September 2 ...

in 1988, Korean Air was the only airline operating in South Korea. The process of privatization of Korean National Airlines in 1969 was supported by

Park Chung-hee Park Chung-hee (, ; 14 November 1917 – 26 October 1979) was a South Korean politician and army general who served as the dictator of South Korea from 1961 until his assassination in 1979; ruling as an unelected military strongman from 1961 ...

, the South Korean military general president who seized power of the country through a military coup d'état; and the monopoly of the airline was secured for two decades. After widening the Jaebeol branches, the subsidiary corporations of Korean Air include marine and overland transportation businesses, hotels, and real estate among others; and the previous branches included heavy industry, passenger transportation, construction, and a stockbroking business. The nature of the South Korean chaebeol system involves nepotism. A series of incidents involving Korean Air in the 2000s have "revealed an ugly side of the culture within chaebeols, South Korea's giant family-run conglomerates".

Hotel ownership

Korean Air owns five hotels: two KAL hotels on Jeju island, the Hyatt in Incheon; Waikiki Resort in Hawaii, and a hotel/office building called the

Wilshire Grand Tower Wilshire Grand Center is a skyscraper in the financial district of downtown Los Angeles, California, occupying the entire city block between Wilshire Boulevard and 7th, Figueroa, and Francisco streets. Completed in 2017, it is the tallest b ...

in Los Angeles. This building in downtown Los Angeles houses the largest

InterContinental Hotel Intercontinental is an adjective to describe something which relates to more than one continent. Intercontinental may also refer to: * Intercontinental ballistic missile, a long-range guided ballistic missile * InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG ...

in the Americas in what is the

tallest building in Los Angeles The tallest building in Los Angeles, California, is the Wilshire Grand Center, which is tall and became the tallest building in 2017. It is also the tallest building in the state, the tallest building west of the Mississippi River, and t ...

Aerospace research and manufacturing

Korean Air is also involved in aerospace research and manufacturing. The division, known as the Korean Air Aerospace Division (KAL-ASD), has manufactured licensed versions of the

MD Helicopters MD 500 The MD Helicopters MD 500 series is an American family of light utility civilian and military helicopters. The MD 500 was developed from the Hughes 500, a civilian version of the US Army's OH-6A Cayuse/Loach. The series currently includes the M ...

and

Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift Utility helicopter, utility military helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted the S-70 design for the United States Army's Utility Tactical Transpo ...

helicopters, as well as the Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II fighter aircraft, the aft fuselage and wings for the

KF-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successf ...

fighter aircraft manufactured by

Korean Aerospace Industries Korea Aerospace Industries (Korean: 한국항공우주산업, Hanja: 韓國航空宇宙産業) (KAI) is a South Korean aerospace and defense company. It was originally established as a joint venture of Samsung Aerospace, Daewoo Heavy Industries' ...

and parts for various commercial aircraft including the Boeing 737, Boeing 747, Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner; and the Airbus A330 and Airbus A380. In 1991, the division designed and flew the

Korean Air Chang-Gong 91 __NOTOC__ The Korean Air Chang-Gong 91 ( en, Blue Sky 91) is a four-seat single-engined low-wing monoplane designed by the Korea Institute of Aeronautical Technology and built by the Aerospace Division of Korean Air Korean Air Co., Ltd. (), ...

light aircraft. KAA also provides aircraft maintenance support for the United States Department of Defense in Asia and maintains a research division with focuses on launch vehicles, satellites, commercial aircraft, military aircraft, helicopters, and simulation systems. In October 2012, a development deal between

Bombardier Aerospace Bombardier Aviation is a division of Bombardier Inc. It is headquartered in Dorval, Quebec, Canada. Its most popular aircraft included the Dash 8 Series 400, CRJ100/200/440, and CRJ700/900/1000 lines of regional airliners, and the newer CS ...

and a government-led South Korean consortium was announced, aiming to develop a 90-seat

turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. Fuel ...

regional airliner A regional airliner or a feederliner is a small airliner that is designed to fly up to 100 passengers on short-haul flights, usually feeding larger carriers' airline hubs from small markets. This class of airliners is typically flown by the re ...

, targeting a 2019 launch date. The consortium would have included

Korea Aerospace Industries Korea Aerospace Industries (Korean: 한국항공우주산업, Hanja: 韓國航空宇宙産業) (KAI) is a South Korean aerospace and defense company. It was originally established as a joint venture of Samsung Aerospace, Daewoo Heavy Industries' ...

and Korean Air. While this plan did not come to fruition, in 2019, Korean Aerospace Industries nevertheless decided to conduct a two-year study to assess the feasibility of taking the lead on building a turboprop airliner.

Destinations

Codeshare agreements

Korean Air has

codeshare agreement A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...

s with the following airlines: *

Aeroflot PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (russian: ПАО "Аэрофло́т — Росси́йские авиали́нии", ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; russian: Аэрофлот, , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. The ...

Aerolíneas Argentinas Aerolíneas Argentinas, formally Aerolíneas Argentinas S.A., is Argentina's largest airline and the country flag carrier. The airline was created in 1949 from the merger of four companies and started operations in . A consortium led by Iberia ...

Air Europa Air Europa Líneas Aéreas, S.A.U., branded as Air Europa, is the third-largest Spanish airline after Iberia and Vueling. The airline is headquartered in Llucmajor, Mallorca, Spain; it has its main hub at Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport ...

Air Tahiti Nui Air Tahiti Nui is the flag carrier of the French overseas collectivity of French Polynesia, with its head office in Papeete and its daily operations office in Faaa, Tahiti. It operates long-haul flights from its home base at Faa'a Internati ...

Alaska Airlines Alaska Airlines is a major American airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, within the Seattle metropolitan area. It is the sixth largest airline in North America when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and the numb ...

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

China Airlines China Airlines (CAL; ) is the state-owned flag carrier of the Republic of China (Taiwan), and one of its two major airlines along with EVA Air. It is headquartered in Taoyuan International Airport and operates over 1,400 flights weekly (inclu ...

China Eastern Airlines China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited (), also known as China Eastern, is an airline headquartered in the China Eastern Airlines Building, on the grounds of Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport in Changning District, Shanghai. It is ...

China Southern Airlines China Southern Airlines Company Limited is an airline headquartered in Baiyun District, Guangzhou, Baiyun District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province and is the largest airline in China. Established on 1 July 1988 following the restructuring of ...

(Joint Venture Partners) *

Emirates Emirates may refer to: * United Arab Emirates, a Middle Eastern country * Emirate, any territory ruled by an emir ** Gulf emirates, emirates located on the Persian Gulf ** Emirates of the United Arab Emirates, the individual emirates * The Emirat ...

* Etihad Airways *

Garuda Indonesia Garuda Indonesia is the flag carrier of Indonesia, headquartered at Soekarno–Hatta International Airport. A successor of KLM Interinsulair Bedrijf, it is a member of SkyTeam and the second-largest airline of Indonesia after Lion Air, operat ...

Gol Transportes Aéreos Gol may refer to: Places * * Gol, Gilan, a village in Gilan Province, Iran * Gol, South Khorasan, a village in South Khorasan Province, Iran * Gol, Bukan, a village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Gol, Chaldoran, a village in West Azerbaij ...

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(Subsidiary) *

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* Vietnam Airlines *

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Interline agreements

Korean Air has interline agreements with the following airlines: *

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Korean Air is also an airline partner of ''Skywards'', the frequent-flyer program for

. ''Skywards'' members can earn miles for flying Korean Air and can redeem miles for free flights.

Fleet

Current fleet

, Korean Air operates the following aircraft:

Retired fleet

Korean Air has operated the following aircraft: Airbus_A380-861,_Korean_Air_AN2067289

Fleet plans

At the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines Assembly in 2018, Korean Air announced that it was considering a new large widebody aircraft order to replace older

Airbus A330 The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus. Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A340 ...

Boeing 777-200ER The Boeing 777, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven, is an American long-range wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet. The 777 was designed to bridge the gap betw ...

and

Boeing 777-300 The Boeing 777, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven, is an American long-range wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet. The 777 was designed to bridge the gap betw ...

. Types under consideration for replacement of older widebody aircraft in the fleet include the

Boeing 777X The Boeing 777X is the latest series of the long-range, wide-body, twin-engine jetliners in the Boeing 777 family from Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The 777X features new GE9X engines, new composite wings with folding wingtips, greater cabin w ...

and

Airbus A350 XWB The Airbus A350 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner developed and produced by Airbus. The first A350 design proposed by Airbus in 2004, in response to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, would have been a development of the A330 ...

At the

International Air Transport Association The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff ...

Annual General Meeting (IATA AGM) in Seoul, Chairman Walter Cho said Korean Air's widebody order is imminent and it is considering an extra order of

Airbus A220 Family The Airbus A220 is a family of five-abreast narrow-body airliners by Airbus Canada Limited Partnership. It was originally designed by Bombardier Aerospace, Bombardier and had two years in service as the Bombardier CSeries. The program was ...

including developing version, Airbus A220-500. In 2022, Korean Air is considering ordering a new freighter to continue the support cargo demand worldwide. Chairman of Korean Air Walter Cho said KAL is considering 2 options and looking at both.

Aircraft interiors

Korean Air currently offers three types of first class, four types of business (''Prestige'') class, and standard economy class. Korean Air operates First Class on all Boeing 747-8I and parts of its 777-300ER, Airbus A380-800, Boeing 777-200ER, and -300ER fleets. Some seats are equipped as suites with doors. The airline markets Business Class as "Prestige Class" with some aircraft equipped with suites. The airline announced its introduction of Premium Economy in 2017. The first aircraft equipped with premium economy marketed as "Economy Plus" was CS300 (Airbus A220-300). The product was eliminated in 2019 due to discordance of service and profit loss. The airline also offers Economy Class.

Incidents and accidents

In the late 1990s, Korean Air was "an industry pariah, notorious for fatal crashes" due to its extremely poor safety record and being one of the world's most dangerous airlines. Safety has seemingly improved since as the airline made concerted efforts to improve standards in the early 21st century. In 2001, the

upgraded Korea's air-safety rating while Korean Air passed an

audit in 2005. Between 1970 and 1999, many fatal incidents occurred. Since 1970, 17 Korean Air aircraft have been written off in serious incidents and accidents with the loss of 700 lives. Two Korean Air aircraft were shot down by the Soviet Union, one operating as

Korean Air Lines Flight 902 Korean Air Lines Flight 902 (KAL 902) was a scheduled Korean Air Lines flight from Paris to Seoul via Anchorage. On 20 April 1978, the Soviet air defense shot down the aircraft serving the flight, a Boeing 707, near Murmansk, Soviet Union, afte ...

and the other as

Korean Air Lines Flight 007 Korean Air Lines Flight 007 (KE007/KAL007)The flight number KAL 007 was used by air traffic control, while the public flight booking system used KE 007 was a scheduled Korean Air Lines flight from New York City to Seoul via Anchorage, Alask ...

. Korean Air's deadliest incident was Flight 007 which was shot down by the Soviet Union on September 1, 1983. All 269 people on board were killed, including a sitting U.S. Congressman,

Larry McDonald Lawrence Patton McDonald (April 1, 1935 – September 1, 1983) was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Georgia's 7th congressional district as a Democrat from 1975 until he was killed ...

. The last fatal passenger accident was the

crash in 1997, which killed 229 people of the 254 people aboard including

Shin Ki-ha Shin Ki-ha ( ko, 신기하; Hanja: 辛基夏, RR: ''Sin Gi-ha'', M-R: ''Sin Kiha''; April 27, 1941 – August 6, 1997), was a South Korean politician. A four-term lawmaker, he was a former parliamentary leader of the South Korean political part ...

, a South Korean parliamentarian. The

concluded that poor communication between the flight crew as the probable cause for the air crash, along with the captain's poor decision-making on the

non-precision approach In aviation, an instrument approach or instrument approach procedure (IAP) is a series of predetermined maneuvers for the orderly transfer of an aircraft operating under instrument flight rules from the beginning of the initial approach to a landi ...

. The last crew fatalities were in the crash of

Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509 Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509 was a Boeing 747-200, Boeing 747-2B5F, registered HL7451 and bound for Milan Malpensa Airport, that crashed due to instrument malfunction and pilot error on 22 December 1999 shortly after take-off from London Stanste ...

in 1999 due to instrument malfunction and

pilot error Pilot error generally refers to an Aviation accidents and incidents, accident in which an action or decision made by the Aircraft pilot#Airline, pilot was the cause or a contributing factor that led to the accident, but also includes the pi ...

. The last aircraft

write-off A write-off is a reduction of the recognized value of something. In accounting, this is a recognition of the reduced or zero value of an asset. In income tax statements, this is a reduction of taxable income, as a recognition of certain expenses ...

occurred in 2022, when

Korean Air Flight 631 Korean Air Flight 631 (KE631/KAL631) was a scheduled passenger flight from Incheon International Airport near Seoul, South Korea to Mactan–Cebu International Airport in Metro Cebu, Philippines. On October 23, 2022, the Airbus A330-300 operatin ...

overran the runway at

Mactan–Cebu International Airport Mactan–Cebu International Airport ( ceb, Tugpahanang Pangkalibutan sa Mactan–Sugbo; fil, Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Mactan–Cebu; ) is an international airport serving Metro Cebu and serves as the main gateway to the Central Visayas region ...

while attempting to land under poor weather conditions.

References

External links

Korean Air
{{Authority control Aerospace companies of South Korea Aircraft manufacturers of South Korea Airlines established in 1962 Airlines of South Korea Association of Asia Pacific Airlines Companies based in Seoul