Korean Air

_Airline |airline=Korean Air|logo=Korean_Air_logo.png|logo_size=205px|IATA=KE|ICAO=KAL|callsign=Koreanair|parent=Korean Air ITDC|founded=1962 (privatized 1969)|headquarters=Seoul, Republic of Korea|key_people=Cho Yangho (Chairman and CEO)|hubs=Incheon Int'l Airport
Gimpo International Airport|focus_cities=Gimhae International Airport
Jeju International Airport|frequent_flyer=SKYPASS|lounge=Korean Air Lounge|alliance=SkyTeam|fleet_size=117|destinations=103 incl. cargo|website= http://www.koreanair.com|}}

Korean Air () is the largest airline based in Korea. One of the largest airlines in Asia, it operates a network that links Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, North America, and (formerly) 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 numerous 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 magazine readers and twice has won the coveted Mercury Award for its inflight catering.

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.

Korean Air Boeing 747

Korean Air Boeing 747

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 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). Korean Air also flies to the most US destinations of any Asian Carrier (10, one pending).

Safety Record

From mid 1980's to the late 1990's, Korean Air became quite notorious for its 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 none too surprising since Asiana was, at the time, 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 though its poor reputation still lingers. But once improving in safety, Korean Air became profitable again and became Asia's fifth largest carrier.

Incidents and accidents

*1 September, 1983 â€" Flight 007 (Boeing 747-230B) departed from Anchorage for Seoul. At 5:00 AM the flight was cleared directly to the Bethel VOR beacon and then on to the Romeo 20 route. The pilot mistakenly diverted from its intended course and passed 12 miles north of the Bethel beacon. While approaching the Kamchatka peninsula, six Soviet MiG-23 fighters were scrambled. Because a U.S. Air Force Boeing RC-135 intelligence plane was flying in the area east off Kamchatka, the Soviets may have assumed the 747 radar echo to be the RC-135. The flight left Soviet airspace over the Okhostk Sea and the fighters returned to their base. Passing abeam the Nippi beacon (four hours after take-off), the aircraft was 185 miles off course and headed for Sakhalin. Two Soviet Su-15 'Flagon' fighters were scrambled from the Dolinsk-Sokol airbase. At 18:16 UTC flight 007 re-entered Soviet airspace. At 18:22, for the second time, Soviet command ordered destruction of the target. Two air-to-air missiles were launched by one of the fighters and struck the Boeing at 18:26. Cabin pressure was lost and the aircraft suffered control problems, causing the plane to spiral into the sea. The event was denounced by the US Reagan Administration as a deliberate and wanton act of murder by an "evil empire." (source: http://aviation-safety.net) Damageâ€" total air frame break up, Injuriesâ€" N/A, Deaths- 269 (23 of 23 crew, 246 of 246 passengers), Airframeâ€" written off
*29 November, 1987 â€" Flight 858 (Boeing 707-3B5C) from Abu Dhabi to Bangkok, 122 km (76.3 miles) northwest of Tavoy, Burma (in the Andaman Sea) the aircraft exploded and disintegrated. Investigation revealed that a bomb explosion aboard caused the crash. Two saboteurs disguised as passengers, who had deplaned at Abu Dhabi, left a radio and liquor bottle containing hidden explosives in the overhead rack at row 7. South Korea accused Kim Jong-Il, son of then-North Korean leader Kim Il-sung, of ordering the 1987 bombing of Flight 858. No direct evidence has emerged to link Kim to the bombing, but a North Korean agent, Kim Hyon Hui, confessed to planting a bomb, saying the operation was ordered by Kim Jong-Il personally.(source ; http://dnausers.d-n-a.net/dnetGOjg/Research.htm )Damageâ€" total destruction, Injuriesâ€" N/A, Deaths- 115 (11 of 11 crew, 104 of 104 passengers), Airframeâ€" written off
*27 July, 1989 â€" Flight 803 (McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30) from Jeddah to Tripoli. The aircraft initially departed Seoul on a flight to Tripoli with intermediate stops at Bangkok and Jeddah. Weather was poor as the aircraft approached Tripoli runway 27. Fuel in the aircraft was critically low due to multiple crew errors in fuel calculations. By final approach the aircraft had no fuel left and crashed short of the runway, striking four houses and multiple cars. (source: http://aviation-safety.net) Damageâ€" total destruction, Injuriesâ€" multiple, Deaths- 79 (4 ground fatalities, 3 of 18 crew, 72 of 181 passengers), Airframeâ€" written off
*6 August, 1997 â€" Flight 801 (Boeing 747-3B5) from Seoul to Agana, Guam, The crew attempted a night-time approach to Guam runway 06L. Flight 801 had descended 800 feet below the prescribed altitude, struck the 709 foot Nimitz Hill at a height of 650 feet and crashed in a jungle valley, breaking up and bursting into flames. Subsequent investigation found that the captain's failure to adequately brief and execute the nonprecision approach and the first officer's and flight engineer's failure to effectively monitor and cross-check the captain's execution of the approach were directly responsible for the crash. Contributing factors were the captain's fatigue and Korean Air's inadequate flight crew training. (source ; http://users.d-n-a.net/dnetGOjg/) Damageâ€" total destruction, Injuriesâ€" multiple/severe, Deaths- 228 (22 of 23 crew, 206 of 231 passengers), Airframeâ€" written off
*15 March, 1999 â€" Flight 1533 (McDonnell Douglas MD-83) from Seoul to Pohang departed for Pohang. Weather at Pohang was poor with degraded visibility and gusty 25 knot winds. The pilot failed at the first attempt to land. After the second approach the plane touched down, but overran the runway. The aircraft skidded through 10 antennas, a reinforced barbed wire fence and came to rest against an embankment. The landing snapped the fuselage in half. (source ; www.planecrashinfo.com) Damageâ€" Complete destruction of air frame, Injuriesâ€" multiple, Deaths - 0, Airframeâ€" written off
*15 April, 1999 â€" Cargo flight 6316 (McDonnell Douglas MD-11) from Shanghai to Seoul took off despite the Korean co-pilot's repeated misunderstanding and miscommunication with the tower and the pilot. The aircraft climbed to 4,500 feet and the captain, after receiving two wrong affirmative answers from the first officer that the required altitude should be 1,500 feet, thought that the aircraft was 3,000 feet too high. The captain then pushed the control column abruptly forward causing the aircraft to start a rapid descent. Neither was able to recover from the dive. The airplane plummeted into an industrial development zone 10 kilometers (6 miles) southwest of Hongqiao airport. The plane plunged to the ground, hitting housing for migrant workers, and exploded. (source ; http://users.d-n-a.net/dnetGOjg/) Damageâ€" Complete destruction of air frame, Injuriesâ€" N/A, Deaths - 3 (three of three crew), Airframeâ€" written off
*22 December, 1999 â€" Cargo flight 8509 (Boeing 747-2B5F from London to Milan The crew banked the aircraft into the ground while multiple audible warnings were sounding. Subsequent investigation revealed that the pilots did not respond appropriately to warnings during the climb after takeoff despite prompts from the flight engineer. The commanding pilot maintained a left roll control input, rolling the aircraft to approximately 90 of left bank and there was no control input to correct the pitch attitude throughout the turn. The first officer either did not monitor the aircraft attitude during the climbing turn or, having done so, did not alert the commander to the extreme unsafe attitude that developed, and the maintenance activity at London/Stansted was misdirected. Investigators subsequently suggested, among other things, that Korean Air alter training materials and safety education to meet the "unique" Korean culture.(source ; www.planecrashinfo.com ) Damageâ€" Complete destruction of air frame, Injuriesâ€" N/A, Deaths- 4 (four of four crew), Airframeâ€" written off

Code Sharing

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

{|valign|
*Aeroflot
*Aeroméxico
*Air China
*Air France
*Alitalia
*China Airlines
*China Eastern Airlines
*China Southern Airlines
*Continental Airlines
*Czech Airlines
*Delta Air Lines