Korean National Airlines (KNA) was the first (commercial cargo and passenger) air carrier in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. Established in 1946 and incorporated in 1948 in

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 ...

, and its first official passenger flight was from Seoul to Pusan on October 30, 1948 (which is now Korea's National Air Day holiday). The carrier was an international carrierthough it was privately owned by its Founding Chairman, Captain Shin Yong-Wook (). It operated under the brand name Koreanair. KNA operated from 1947 to 1950 with

Stinson Voyager The Stinson Voyager was a 1940s American light utility monoplane built by the Stinson Aircraft Company. Development First developed as the Stinson HW-75 and marketed as the Model 105 in 1939, the design was a high-wing three-seat braced monopla ...

aircraft, suspended operations from 1950 to 1952 due to the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, and resumed flying in 1952 with

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...

and

Douglas DC-4 The Douglas DC-4 is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Military versions of the plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s ...

aircraft. In late 1961, many Korean industries, including transportation, were nationalized in an effort to spur the country's economic growth. Shin Yong-Wook challenged the government's authority to nationalize his company, but KNA was ultimately taken over in a forced acquisition by the government in 1962.

Fleet

The Korean National Airlines fleet ultimately consisted of the following aircraft: Two Fokker F.27 Friendships were on order by KNA at the time of its demise and were eventually operated by

Korean Air Lines Korean Air Co., Ltd. (), operating as Korean Air (Korean Air Lines before 1984), is the flag carrier of South Korea and its largest airline based on fleet size, international destinations and international flights. The present-day Korean Air ...

Destinations

KNA served the following destinations: *Busan - three daily DC-3 services in 1957; two daily DC-3 and DC-4 services by 1961 *Gangneung - four DC-3 services per week as of 1957; weekly by 1961 *Gwangju - two weekly DC-3 services in 1957; three by 1961 *Hong Kong - weekly DC-4 service in 1957; weekly Constellation service by 1961 *Seattle - charter Constellation service in 1959 *Manila - Charter Service during 1954 Asian Games *Jeju - three weekly DC-3 services from Gwangju by 1961 *Seoul (Hub)

References

*노고지리의 증언 (한국항공대학교출판부 1999.3.29) *http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/01/21/2010012101878.html?srchCol=news&srchUrl=news1 *http://www.dailyjeonbuk.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=62220 *http://blog.ohmynews.com/post9/tag/KNA Defunct airlines of South Korea Airlines established in 1948 Airlines disestablished in 1962 1962 disestablishments in South Korea South Korean companies established in 1946 {{Asia-airline-stub