Air Koryo is one of the most closed airlines in the world. Try to buy a ticket from this company via the Internet, and you will understand what I mean. Take a look at their representative office in Moscow on Mosfilmovskaya, and you will once again be convinced that I am right.
I had the opportunity to ride on Air Koryo aircraft, which is blacklisted by EU airlines every year, during a trip to North Korea, which I will talk about in the following posts. Since even flying with Air Koryo is an adventure, I will increase the number of photos to 10.
I flew to Pyongyang from Vladivostok. To date, this is one of three flights by the North Korean airline (the other two to Beijing and Shenyang). The cost of a ticket for a flight lasting just over an hour was comparable to the cost of a flight from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok, purchased under the promotion. The ticket itself - neither there nor back - I did not see, but I assume that it was electronic.
The flight there was carried out on the Tu-154B, built at the Samara plant "Aviakor" in May 1976. It seems that this is the oldest Tu-154 flying today (the first scheduled flight of Tu-154 was made in 1972, Tu-154B - in 1975).
About two hours before check-in began, North Koreans began to arrive at the airport, it was impossible to confuse them with anyone else - serious, fit, each with a badge depicting Kim Il Sung. The amount of luggage was amazing - they had boxes, bales and even a cage with a dog.
At check-in, I asked for a seat at the tail of the plane. I was given a boarding pass for the 29th row, and theoretically there were 28 rows on the plane, but in fact there were about 15, since the seats were removed in the tail of the plane, only the last 28th row remained .. I'm not proud - without expecting a trick, I sat on 28, for the benefit of the people not so much, but a representative of the company who got on board drove me to the front of the cabin, and they began to load luggage into the tail, which was unmeasured - there was only a narrow passage to the toilets.
We took off almost on schedule, on the flight we were offered soda or local beer and Korea Today magazine. Since the time of the notorious song in the magazine, little has changed. While we were reading about the life of the Great Leader and filling out three papers to enter the country (translated into Russian, but with a bunch of typos, one had to indicate all available means of communication, including mobile phones), the plane began to descend and landed in Pyongyang (Sunan Airport).
In Pyongyang, while we were moving to the terminal, we were struck by the abundance of people in nondescript military uniforms along the perimeter of the airport. I saw something similar during the celebration of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg, but it was a long time ago and not true. Soon the terminal itself appeared - naturally, we were met by a portrait of the Sun-like leader.
Going down the ladder, I noticed the ladder next to ours. I saw this in a past life.
Already at the entrance to the terminal, our passports were checked, one piece of paper was taken away and the other was signed.
Next - the queue for passport control, after which we meet with the guides (there are two of them - a woman and a man in civilian clothes), who immediately took away our mobile phones - they were put in a canvas bag, sealed and left for storage here at the airport . There was no particular point in hiding the phone, leaving it to yourself - it did not catch and could not catch. The guides had cell phones.
Luggage claim is also a curious sight. Despite the fact that the tape is automatic, two pretty Korean women put their luggage on it, they are led by the boss standing next to them (the boss was not in the frame).
To better feel the atmosphere of the airport, look at the pictures of the check-in desk for the internal, as I understand it, flight.
Korean Air is one of the top twenty leading airlines in the world in terms of the volume of passengers carried, has route network on international routes to 130 cities in more than 45 countries, within the country the company operates flights to 20 destinations. The main hubs of the airline are two international airports in Seoul - Incheon and Gimpo. Headquarters and main control center Korean Air is located in the Gongangdong District of Gangseo-Gu, Seoul, with major branches located at Jeju International Airport and Busan Gimhae International Airport.
Story
Korean Air was established in 1962 by the South Korean government as a replacement for Korean National Airlines founded in 1948. March 1, 1969 Korean Air takes control of the Korean financial holding Hanjin Transport Group. On April 26, 1971, the airline made its first long-haul cargo flight to Los Angeles, and almost a year later, on April 19, 1972, its first long-haul passenger flight to the same city.
The airline served international routes to Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Taiwan with Boeing 707 aircraft until 1973, when new Boeing 747s entered service to replace the 707s on Pacific and trans-Pacific flights. In 1973, the airline opened a European route with flights to Paris on Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-10 aircraft. With the receipt in 1975 of the Airbus A300 Korean Air became the first Asian airline - a client of the European concern Airbus.
On March 1, 1984, the airline changed its official name from Korean Air Lines to the current one Korean Air and changed the livery of the aircraft: a livery was introduced with a stylized flag of the republic (“Taegykki”) against the background of the dominant blue with silver and a significantly enlarged inscription of the new airline name. The livery was designed Korean Air in cooperation with the Boeing Corporation and first appeared on the Fokker F28 aircraft. In 1990, the airline was one of the first in the world to receive new McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft, however, after a short operation on passenger lines, MD-11s were converted into a cargo configuration in addition to the already used Boeing 747 cargo fleet.
Route network
Main article: Route network of Korean Air
Except regular flights Korean Air also operates charter flights to Kuwait and Irkutsk (during the summer season).
Airline fleet
Passenger ships
As of June 2011, the airline's passenger fleet consists of the following aircraft:
| aircraft type | Total | Ordered | Option | Passengers (Prestige*/ Economy class) |
Directions | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 737-700 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Used for BBJ | ||
| Boeing 737-800 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 149 (8/141) 164 (8/156) 170 (8/162) |
China, Southeast Asia |
Will be transferred to a subsidiary airline Jin Air |
| Boeing 737-900 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 188 (8/180) | Domestic and international short and medium haul China, Japan, Southeast Asia |
|
| Boeing 737-900ER | 0 | 4 | 0 | ??? (?/???) | Domestic and international short and medium haul China, Japan |
|
| Airbus A300-600R | 8 | 0 | 0 | 266 (24/242) 276 (24/252) |
Domestic and international short and medium haul Japan, China, Southeast Asia |
Will be replaced by Boeing 787-8 aircraft two or more aircraft will be transferred to the subsidiary Jin Air |
| Airbus A330-200 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 256 (6/18/232) | Egypt (Cairo), Europe (Amsterdam, Madrid, St. Petersburg (seasonal), Fiji (Nadi), Australia (Melbourne) |
|
| Airbus A330-300 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 296 (12/28/256) | International medium and short haul(including short flights with high frequency) Australia (Brisbane, Sydney, seasonally in Cairns), Japan (Fukuoka, Sapporo, Osaka, Tokyo, Nagoya), China (Beijing, Shanghai, Qingdao, Hong Kong), Mongolia, India (Mumbai), Southeast Asia (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh) and middle Asia(Istanbul, Dubai), |
At the peak of the summer season and on holidays, the A330 operate domestic flights with high flight frequency |
| Airbus A380-800 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 407 (12/94/301) | International long haul North America(Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta) Europe (Paris, Frankfurt, London)
|
|
| Boeing 747-400 | 17 | 0 | 0 | salons Cosmo Sleeper new interior 333(10/61/262) 335(12/61/262) old interior |
International long haul Los Angeles (All flights with a stopover in Tokyo or Sao Paulo), New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Paris, London, Honolulu, Frankfurt, Milan (Malpensa), Rome (Fiumicino), Toronto, Prague (peak season) , Zurich, Vancouver (summer peak), Guam (peak), Sydney (winter peak), Auckland (winter peak) Short-haul, high-frequency flights |
Will be replaced by Boeing 777-300ER and A380-800 aircraft |
| Boeing 747-400M | 1 | 0 | 0 | 284 (0/48/236) | International Seoul (Incheon) - Tel Aviv, Hong Kong and others |
Will be replaced by new Boeing 777-300ER |
| Boeing 747-8 | 0 | 7 | 0 | TBA | ||
| Boeing 777-200ER | 18 | 0 | 0 | salons Cosmo Sleeper new interior 261(8/28/225) old interior |
International long haul North America (Las Vegas, Dallas, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, Washington (Columbia), Honolulu Latin America (Sao Paulo via Los Angeles) Oceania (Sydney, Auckland) Short haul with high frequency of flights |
|
| Boeing 777-300 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 376 (12/28/336) | Medium and short haul with high frequency of flights Southeast Asia, China and Japan, Singapore, Manila |
|
| Boeing 777-300ER | 6 | 5 | 291 (8/56/227) | International long haul | Replace Boeing 747-400 Commissioning in June 2009 (Seoul-Bangkok) |
|
| Boeing 787-9 | 0 | 10 | International long haul- Oceania and Busan-Jeju routes | Commissioning in 2010 Replace Airbus A300-600, A330-200/300 |
* "Prestige class" (business class) is provided on short routes inside the country. First Class and Prestige Class service is available on most international flights.
cargo ships
As of December 2008, the airline's cargo fleet consists of the following aircraft:
| aircraft type | Total | Ordered | Option | Directions | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A300-600RF | 2 | 0 | 0 | China, Japan | Converted from passenger ships |
| Boeing 747-400F | 10 | 0 | 0 | Medium and long haul | |
| Boeing 747-400ERF | 7 | 0 | 0 | Medium and long haul | |
| Boeing 747-400BCF | 5 | 0 | 0 | Medium and long haul | Converted from passenger ships in combined configuration |
| Boeing 747-8F | 0 | 5 | 0 | Medium and long haul | |
| Boeing 777-F | 0 | 5 | 0 | Medium and long haul | |
| Total | 24 | 10 | 0 |
Average age of the air fleet Korean Air as of March 2008 was 8.8 years.
On December 29, 2006, the airline announced its intention to technically convert all passenger Boeing 747-400s into a cargo version. Subdivision Korean Air Cargo two years in a row (2004-2005) ranked first in the ranking of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) among the world's largest air cargo carriers in terms of tons transported per kilometer (FTK index) on international routes. In 2005, the FTK index on international lines Korean Air amounted to 7.982 billion tons per kilometer.
On February 3, 2009, the airline placed an additional order for two Airbus A380s, bringing the total number of 380s ordered to ten. The delivery of these two liners is expected in May-June 2014.
Decommissioned
| Type | Year | Replacement | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A300B4-103 | 1997 | ||
| Boeing 707-320 | 1980s | ||
| Boeing 720-200 | 1970s | ||
| Boeing 727-200 | 1996 | ||
| Boeing 747-200 | 1998 | ||
| Boeing 747-200F | 2006 | Boeing 747-400ERF | On sale to Cargo 360 |
| Boeing 747SP | 1998 | ||
| Boeing 747-300 | 2005 | Boeing 777-200ER | |
| Boeing 747-300C | 2006 | Implemented in Cargo 360 airline | |
| Douglas DC-3 | 1970s | ||
| Douglas DC-4 | 1970s | ||
| Douglas DC-8 | 1980s | ||
| Douglas DC-9 | 1973 | ||
| Douglas DC-10-30 | 1996 | Implemented to Northwest Airlines | |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-11 | 2005 | ||
| McDonnell Douglas MD-82 | 2002 | Boeing 737-800/900 | |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-83 | 2002 | Boeing 737-800/900 | |
| Fokker F27 Friendship | 1980s | ||
| Fokker F28 Fellowship | 1989 | ||
| Fokker F100 | 2004 | Boeing 737-800/900 | On sale to Iran Aseman Airlines |
| NAMC YS-11 | 1976 | ||
| CASA C-212 | 2001 |
Aircraft cabins
In 2005 Korean Air spent more than a billion US dollars to develop and implement new services and amenities for passengers, in particular, new sleeper seats for First and Business Class passengers with a personal in-flight entertainment system. All cabins of the Boeing 777-200ER and part of the Boeing 747-400 are equipped with these innovations, and all new aircraft come into operation with ready-made solutions. As of June 27, 2007, advanced cabins are present on aircraft flying non-stop from/to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Seattle, San Francisco, Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Washington DC, Tokyo, Osaka , Nagoya , Guam , Beijing , Shanghai , Paris , Frankfurt , London and Manila .
First Class: Kosmo Sleeper Seat
Korean Air offers first-class passengers comfortable seats Kosmo Sleeper Seat , unfolding at an angle of 180 degrees, that is, in a completely horizontal state. The seat is 76.2 centimeters wide and features an integrated lumbar spine massager, personal in-flight entertainment system, AVOD (video and audio on demand) system, individual lighting and a small extra seat.
Business Class: Prestige Plus Seat
In business class cabins Korean Air passenger seats installed Prestige Plus Seat manufactured by BE Aerospace. The chairs are laid out at an angle of 170 degrees, equipped with massage devices for the lumbar spine, an AVOD media system and individual lighting lamps.
Economy class
The new economy class cabins of the airline are designed in a beautiful style of thin lines, each passenger seat equipped with an adjustable headrest and footrest and an 8.4-inch personal screen for the AVOD in-flight entertainment system.
Service
entertainment system
All salons supplied since the end of 2005 aircraft Korean Air are equipped with personal touch LCD displays of the AVOD entertainment system, the complex itself is called SKY and manufactured by Thales Avionics. The flight offers a selection of 40 recently released movies, 60 short TV shows, nearly 4,000 music tracks on 300 CDs, and ten of the latest games. The selection of programs and films consists of Korean pop cult productions and new Korean films released by the country's major studios and broadcast networks.
Broadcast programs and films are available in many languages to all passengers on board, and the SKY system also has one important option (“My Music”, My Music) - passengers can independently set up an individual playlist of musical compositions to listen to them throughout the flight . Korean Air plans to further increase the volume of its in-flight entertainment service with the introduction of the new Airbus A380s.
Interior
The airline has introduced a new color scheme for the cabins of its aircraft. The color of the sea wave (characteristic of Korean symbols) is dominant in the passenger compartments of the first and business classes, in the economy class the colors of dark chocolate and coffee with milk are added. Airline engineers and designers regularly study public opinion and introduce additional innovations, in particular in given time in color scheme the interiors of new ordered airliners are added colors of aquamarine, ocher and various shades of blue.
Nutrition
In flight on airplanes Korean Air passengers are offered a wide choice of dishes, mainly Asian cuisine. The airline's signature dish, which won first place in the 1997 Mercury Award, is bibimbap, a platter of vegetables with steamed rice, Korean hot red pepper gochujang sauce, and sesame oil. Bibimbap is prepared in several versions, including with the addition of beef and salmon meat.
The in-flight menu includes savory Korean noodles (Bibimmyeon), currently offered as a second course on non-stop long-haul flights, and in 2006, Bibimmyon also won first place in the Mercury Award.
In addition to bibimbap and bibimmyon, the menu of the first, business, premium and prestige classes of the airline includes traditional Korean cuisine - bulgogi, Korean porridge (chuk) and, of course, kalbi - pork or beef ribs cooked according to proprietary recipes. The airline has a separate vegetarian menu, and on flights to Japan, Japanese serving and a set of light kaiseki dishes are additionally provided.
SKYPASS
Korean Air has its own frequent flyer program SKYPASS , whose current motto is "Beyond your Imagination". Because Korean Air is a member of the SkyTeam alliance, members skypass can earn miles on flights of member airlines of this alliance, including Aeroflot. In addition, members have the opportunity to earn miles on Alaska Airlines, Emirates and Vietnam Airlines flights, but accruals from the latter three airlines do not affect the membership level.
SKYPASS has its own specifics in the organization of elite levels. First Elite Level SKYPASS called the Morning Calm Club and is achieved by earning 50,000 miles, of which at least 30,000 miles must be earned from flights with Korean Air. Another option to reach this level requires 40 or more flight segments on Korean Air flights, with domestic flights counted as half of the segment.
The term of stay at this level is two years, during which, in order to remain a member of the Club of the Morning Calm, you must earn 30,000 miles from flights, of which at least 20,000 must be earned on Korean Air flights, or credited to the account of 20 segments, of which 15 must be for Korean Air flights. If the participant SKYPASS does not meet these conditions, it will return to the base level. However, in order to return to the Morning Calm Club level, he only needs to earn the indicated number of miles or segments.
The next levels are assigned for life. Morning Calm Premium Club is available to those who have earned 500,000 miles flying with Korean Air or other Skyteam airlines. When earning a million miles for flights, the program member becomes a member of the Million Miler Club.
Elite Level Privileges SKYPASS relate only to the level of service and additional opportunities during flights, but do not provide for any additional accrual of miles. As with Flying Blue, the opportunity to receive award tickets first class also refers to the privileges of the elite levels.
- If an Elite Member is flying in Business Class, they will have access to the First Class Lounge (available at Seoul/Incheon, Osaka, Los Angeles, New York airports).
Partnership agreements
As of July 2007 Korean Air has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:
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Korean Air is also a partner with Emirates for its Skywards frequent flyer rewards program. Skywards members can earn bonus miles, flying with a company Korean Air, and SKYPASS members, respectively, flying with Emirates Airline.
Aerospace research and industry
Korean Air contains its own division Korean Air Aerospace Division (KAL-ASD) , which is engaged in research and development and is involved in the work of the aerospace industry. KAL-ASD, in particular, produces licensed MD 500 helicopters, UH-60 Black Hawk and F-5E / F Tiger II fighters, assembles the aft fuselage and wings for the KF-16 manufactured by the Korean aerospace industry, and also manufactures parts for various commercial aircraft, including Boeing 737, Boeing 747, Boeing 777, Airbus A330 and Airbus A380.
KAL-ASD provides aircraft maintenance services for the United States Department of Defense in the Asian region and conducts research and development work in the field of system modeling and design of launch vehicles, satellites, commercial and military aircraft and helicopters.
Incidents and accidents
Main article: Korean Air - Air Accidents
Korean Air has a fairly high rate in the statistics of airline accidents. As of December 2008, the airline ranked 71st out of 88 air carriers in the world in terms of flight safety over the past twenty years. Since 1970 Korean Air lost 16 aircraft in aviation incidents, which resulted in the death of more than 700 people. The largest disaster was the 1 September 1983 border incident in Soviet airspace, which killed 246 passengers and 23 crew members. On August 6, 1997, 228 out of 254 people on board died in a disaster on the island of Guam.
Notes
Links
| Regional office in the Asia-Pacific region | |
|---|---|
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Air India Air New Zealand Air Niugini Air Pacific Air Tahiti Air Tahiti Nui Air Vanuatu |
Korean Air is the leader in air transportation in its country. It is not only the largest carrier in the space of modern South Korea, but also the only one national airline In your country. In addition, Korane Air is one of the four founders of the SkyTeam global air alliance.
The airline is based at the main airports of the capital Seoul - Gimpo and Incheon. The headquarters is located in the administrative region of Kangosu. To date, the Korean aviation giant has earned an impressive history, a brilliant reputation, a solid fleet and route network, and the invaluable love of millions of customers. In addition, in terms of volume passenger traffic Korane Air is listed today in the honorary 20 best air carriers in the world.
The life of this Asian carrier was given in 1962 by the government of South Korea as a planned replacement for the already “tired” carrier Korean National Airlines. After 7 years, the newly minted air enterprise fell under the safe "wing" of the powerful financial holding "Hanjin Transport Group". The generous impact of coveted investments has not gone unnoticed. The airline noticeably “prettier”: it increased the fleet with a staff of employees, and expanded the flight map. So, in 1971, the Korean Air aircraft made the first long-haul cargo flight on the Seoul-Los Angeles route, and exactly a year later, an airliner with passengers was already cruising in the same direction.
As for the fleet, at first, the top managers of Corene Air relied mainly on ships from the Boeing manufacturer, regularly replacing old models with the latest market innovations. In parallel, Douglas aircraft (mainly the DC-10 model) were purchased for close flights. The Asian carrier drew attention to Airbuses a little later: approximately from the middle of the 70s, Korean Air became the first carrier of its continent to sign up as a regular customer of this French aviation concern. In addition, the company's fleet included McDonnell Douglas and MD-11 and Fokker F28 liners.
By all the laws of life, after a white streak in the history of "Corain Air" came a streak of failure. But it did not last long and was associated with the general economic downturn of the South Korean economy in 1998-2000. During this period, the work of the national carrier was noticeably reduced, and all its attempts to return to the previous track of success wished for the best. But fate was indulgent to Korean Air - and in the mid-2000s, she again showed her her long-awaited smile. During these years, the Asian carrier entered the stream of success, joyful changes and active development in a new way. New routes appeared in its schedule, and modern liners appeared in the hangars. The company moved its main hub to international Airport Incheon (Seoul) and bought out a quarter of the shares of the Chinese air company Okay Airways.
In 2007, Korean Air received the prestigious World Airline Awards as the best economy class air carrier in the world. In the same year, the company allowed itself to create its own "air-child" - the low-cost airline "Jin Air", which, unlike its "parent" company, offers passengers low-fare transportation and a less stringent security check at airports.
Korane Air is a member of Skyteam, the world's largest global aviation alliance, where its partners are the world's best air carriers: Delta, AlItalia, KLM, Czech Airlines, Air France, Continental Airlines, AeroMexico, etc. Thanks to this cooperation, Korean Airlines passengers Air can enjoy all the benefits of a special Skyteam flight card, which covers 500 destinations in more than 100 countries around the world.
aircraft fleet
The company has a huge fleet of 149 aircraft, 121 of which are for passenger flights and the remaining 28 for cargo. For 70 percent, this fleet consists of liners of the Boeing brand. Passengers fly on models 747-400, 777-200ER and 777-300ER, 777-300, 737-800, etc., and freight transportation service models 747-400F, 747-8F and 777F.
About a quarter of the Korean Air fleet is made up of Airbus aircraft (models A300-300, A330-300 and A 380-800.
All Korean Air aircraft are in excellent technical condition, and the approximate average life of their operation does not exceed seven years.
flights
This carrier is fruitfully working on two route "fronts". Domestically, it serves about 20 destinations, and on international map flies to about 130 destinations in 50 countries on different continents. It is worth noting that today "Corain Air" makes non-stop flights to many transport hubs in the United States, connecting their hubs with at least 13 major airports in the United States.
Asia:
South Korea: Jinju, Seoul, Daegu, Haeju, Ulsan, Wonju, Pohang, Ios, Gunsan, Gwangju, Jeonju, Incheon, Jeju, Busan.
Philippines: Cebu, Manila.
India: Mumbai.
Vietnam: Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh.
China: Yantai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Qingdao, Xi'an, Shenyang, Urumqi, Kunming, Weihai,
Changsha, Yanzi, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Mudanjiang, Shanghai, Dalian, Zhengzhou, Xiamen, Jinan, Tianjin, Shenzhen.
Singapore: Singapore.
Indonesia: about. Bali, Jakarta.
Japan: Osaka, Akita, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Aomori, Tokyo, Kagoshima, Okayama, Nagoya, Oita, Komatsu, Nagasaki, Hakodate, Niigata, Shizuoka.
Cambodia: Siem Reap, Phnom Penh.
Nepal: Kathmandu.
Fiji: Nadi.
Thailand: Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket.
Malaysia: Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur.
Taiwan: Taipei.
Mongolia: Ulaanbaatar.
Uzbekistan: Tashkent.
Australia: Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne.
New Zealand: Auckland.
Near East:
UAE: Dubai.
Israel: Tel Aviv.
Saudi Arabia: Jeddah, Riad.
Turkey: Istanbul..
Europe:
Russia: Moscow, Vladivostok, St. Petersburg, Irkutsk.
Italy: Milan, Rome.
Great Britain, London.
Austria Vienna.
Switzerland: Zuoi.
Netherlands: Amsterdam.
Czech Republic, Prague.
Germany: Munich, Frankfurt am Main.
Spain Madrid.
France Paris.
North America:
Canada: Vancouver, Toronto.
USA: Seattle, Washington, Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Honolulu (Hawaii), Los Angeles, Dallas, Las Vegas, Guam, San Francisco.
South America:
Brazil: Sao Paulo.
Africa:
Kenya: Nairobi.
Egypt: Cairo.
Conditions for regular customers
"Beyond your imagination" - such a promising slogan went to the incentive program "Corain Air" called "SKYPASS". Since this Asian carrier is part of the SkyTeam organization, passengers participating in this bonus program can also earn reward points on flights of airlines that are members of this global alliance (including, by the way, our Aeroflot).
Note that the SKYPASS program has some specifics in reaching the elite levels. For example, the initial Morning Calm Club premium tier is only available to passengers who have earned at least 50,000 miles, of which 30,000 miles or more have been earned on Corane Air flights. This mileage bank must be earned in just 2 years or the member will return to the Basic level of the program.
After the initial level, all the following levels are assigned for life. The privileges of the elite tiers of this program are directly reflected in the level of service and additional opportunities during flights.
Additional service and services
The leadership of Korean Air approaches this issue with particular scrupulousness. Evidence of this is the fact that in 2005 this carrier was generous with a billion US dollars to develop and implement more new amenities and services for passengers. So, the first class on all liners was equipped with Kosmo Sleeper Seat extra-comfort seats, which fold out into an almost perfect bed about 70 cm wide. Thus, each passenger gets his own comfortable and rather spacious individual space.
Did not remain offended and business class. No less comfortable Prestige Plus Seat chairs were installed here, which were also specially designed by the design bureau by order of Korean Air. These chairs are laid out 180 degrees, and the distance between them in the cabin is about 2 meters.
Economy class passengers were pleased with the stylish aquamarine interior and personal LCD touch screens built into each seat. By the way, they were installed back in 2005. During the flight, you can choose from about 40 fresh video films, 60 concise TV programs and 4 thousand musical compositions.
Another important point is nutrition. Korean Airlines offers a veritable abundance of food on board, predominantly Asian or national cuisines. And the carrier's signature dish is bibimbap - the so-called stew made from vegetables and steamed rice with spicy Korean gochujang salsa made from sesame oil and red pepper. It was this dish that won first place in 1997 at the international Mercury Award competition. Bibimbap is included in the menu of premium service classes only.
A new episode of the popular Korean series "Korean Air vs. Salted Nuts". The further, the more and more scandalous. The hype, of course, was not like with Sevol, but the "people's anger" is raging with might and main. There was talk of changing the name of Korean Air. But in general, well done Koreans, who do not let everything go down on the brakes ...
New details in the text of the note ... There is nothing special to add, the further - the "more fun" ... The scandal is growing ... One Korean told me how it all started: "Well, now f ... ts company", I I believed, I say: "Come on, punish Cho and there will be nothing more")) But he answered: "No, everything is more serious, then we grabbed it from inches and now we are pulling everything to the roots." I see he was right... The company will remember this for a long time.
Korean Air could be stripped of its name over salted nuts
Oleg Kiryanov (Busan)
The scandal surrounding the scandalous behavior of Korean Air Vice President Cho Hyun Ah on board the airliner of his own company continues to grow. There was talk about the need to change the name of the main air carrier of Korea, which, according to many Koreans, has dishonored their country to the whole world. At the same time, the Ministry of Transport, which was accused of trying to hush up the scandal in the interests of the company, announced the launch of its own investigation to identify violations committed by its employees.
Now there is a feeling that the scandal with the behavior of Cho Hyun Ah on board the liner was the last straw that overwhelmed the patience of ordinary employees of the company. The country's flagship carrier has already been caught trying to pressure its subordinates and even passengers to present the "salted nuts scandal" to the vice president's advantage, but this appears to be just the beginning. The new facts were voiced on local television by the chief flight attendant of the same flight KE 086 Pak Chang-jin, whom Cho put off the plane. On the air of the KBS TV channel, he said that after the start of the scandal, the company's employees, including him, were instructed by the management to delete all official correspondence by e-mail. Then it became clear that Korean Air would not be able to avoid the investigation, and therefore they tried to cover their tracks. Moreover, the management of the company forced Park to rewrite the testimony that he was supposed to provide to the Ministry of Transport 10 times.
Park added that after the company's efforts to pressure him, the desire to shift responsibility to ordinary employees and shield the vice president, he considers it a matter of honor to see it through.
At the same time, a message from an anonymous user appeared on the airline's website, which many believe is a pilot of one of the Korean Air liners. It says that the practice of arbitrariness and scandalous behavior of the company's management on board aircraft is common and has so far simply been hidden. It was Cho Hyun A who was especially famous for her temper. It is also noted that the commanders of the airliners were subjected to even greater pressure from eccentric leaders during flights. “Do you think that on board someone from the crew is happy when someone from the top management flies? Now everyone is talking about the injured stewardess and flight attendant. But think about this too: the stress that flight attendants get because of management is nothing compared to that experienced by the aircraft commander, ”the post says.
A wave of criticism has now hit the South Korean Ministry of Land Resources and Transport. The journalists found that the interview of the disembarked flight attendant was carried out for a long time in the presence of Korea Air management. Park Chan-jin was also made aware that among the six members of the ministry's investigation team, there are two from Korea Air. In addition, as a result, the ministry chose the most lenient punishment for Vice President Cho Hyun-ah, and before that, media representatives lied about the circumstances of Park's poll. The explosion of public outrage, coupled with new facts, led to the fact that the Ministry of Transport announced the launch of its own internal investigation. They are going to establish what was violated and whether there were attempts to put pressure on Pak, as well as possible behind-the-scenes collusion of officials with Korean Air. Ordinary Koreans are now demanding justice and are calling on the flight attendant, as well as witnesses, not to give up in their fight for justice and the desire to bring the company's management "to clean water". The Ministry of Transportation's verdict on the scandal was ironically described as "It's not Cho Hyun Ah and the company's fault, but, it turns out, salted nuts are to blame."
All this undermined the confidence of Koreans in the country's main air carrier so much that a campaign was launched on the Internet demanding that the name of Korean Air be changed and deprive it of the right to put Korean state symbols on board. According to Money Today, the Ministry of Land and Transport is considering changing the airline's name. Among the possible changes was the deprivation of the right to be called "Korean", as well as a ban on the use of the state symbol on board. It was said that the company could begin to be called by the name of the holding that controls it - "Hanjin Air". The department quickly denied this information, saying that they could not interfere so much in the affairs of a private company. However, many Korean Internet users supported the idea, believing that a company "that has dishonored the country to the whole world can no longer be called" Korean ".
In any case, the "salted nuts scandal" continues to grow, revealing a number of unsightly facts in corporate practices, the system of relationships between managers and subordinates in South Korea. Suspicions also arose about the relevant departments, which, as the scandal shows, are too inclined to listen to the position of large companies to the detriment of the position of ordinary citizens. Now a lot depends on the prosecutor's office, which must issue its verdict on the situation and evaluate the behavior of the now former vice president of Korean Air, Cho Hyun-ah, from the point of view of the law. She was interrogated by the prosecutor's office for 12 hours yesterday. After the end of the interrogation, she again apologized in the presence of numerous journalists, but in Korea they called it "crocodile tears", believing that Cho was doing this insincerely, but only under the pressure of a storm of indignation caused by her egregious behavior.
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The incident, which was dubbed in the media as the "salted nuts scandal", occurred on December 5, 2014 on board the South Korean company Korean Air, en route KE086 New York - Incheon. The plane, which had begun to depart from the terminal, unexpectedly returned back to the "sleeve", after which the senior flight attendant descended from the liner. As it turned out, the initiator of such zigzags of the aircraft was the vice president of Korean Air, 40-year-old Cho Hyun-ah, who was also the eldest daughter of the chairman of the board of directors of the Hanjin holding, who was among the passengers. Cho, who was in the first class cabin, didn't like the way the flight attendant treated her. A package of salted nuts was placed in front of Cho, when Cho thought they should have been placed on a plate. The vice-president, according to eyewitnesses, threw a scandal, raised a cry, supposedly assaulted, and eventually ordered the liner to be returned to the terminal and the senior flight attendant to be put down. As a result of the incident, the flight was delayed by 20 minutes, and the plane arrived at its destination 11 minutes late. Then, under pressure from public criticism, the head of the Hanjin Holding Cho Yang Ho and Cho Hyun Ah herself apologized several times. Cho eventually resigned from her positions at the company. Now the whole situation is being sorted out in the South Korean government and the prosecutor's office.
