Tag Archives for korean air.
A Korean Air flight from Bangkok to Seoul took an unsettling turn when a passenger reportedly tried to open an emergency exit mid-flight. The incident unfolded around an hour after takeoff where a male passenger seated at a crew jump seat by the emergency exit attempted to turn the exit door handle.
On August 4, Korean Air flight 197 from Seoul to Ulaanbaatar encountered severe turbulence injuring 14 passengers and crew about one hour after departure from Incheon Airport, while flying near Tianjin Airport in China at an altitude of 34,100 feet.
The turbulence struck suddenly during the meal service, causing trays and unsecured items to be thrown about the cabin. Passengers described the scene as chaotic, and a passenger hit their head on the ceiling before falling into the aisle.
Korean Air underpaid the Guam Airport over $600,000 in passenger facilities charges, because they underreported the number of passengers on their flights for years. As soon as the airport caught it in an audit, the airline paid up – and started asking questions.
Their former station manager will now serve 41 months in federal prison, plus five years of supervised release, for bank fraud and money laundering and will have to pay restitution to the airline.
You have heard about the woman who sued McDonalds and won $2.7 million after spilling a cup of coffee in her own lap. It became an exhibit in how we desperately needed tort reform. And yet the judgment made a lot of sense to anyone who actually went and learned the facts of the case.
Korean Air has a lot to learn from McDonald’s.
On Tuesday at New Chitose Airport near Sapporo, Japan, a Korean Air Airbus A330-300 collided with a stationary Cathay Pacific Boeing 777, which was unoccupied at the time. This incident, involving no injuries, occurred amidst snowy conditions. More than 45 flights were cancelled due to weather.
The Asiana-Korean Air merger is set to consolidate the two major Korean airlines, potentially affecting competition on key international routes, despite concerns from US and European regulators. Virgin Atlantic’s proposed Seoul route hinges on the deal’s approval, underscoring the complex interplay between airline alliances and market competition.
In December 2019 – shortly before the start of the pandemic – Korean Air announced a huge devaluation of their frequent flyer program with revenue-based mileage-earning and a new distance-based award chart coming in April 2021.
Korean Air has offered one of the more lucrative frequent flyer programs for many years, and access to outstanding award inventory not made available to its partners. However they’re also part of a joint venture with (and partially owned by) Delta, so devaluation of their mileage program was almost a given – at least until the pandemic hit.
SkyTeam’s Korean Air is acquiring Star Alliance member Asiana. Now the Prime Minister of Japan is talking about the need to merge ANA and Japan Airlines as part of injecting subsidies into his country’s two largest airlines.
Delta has increased its stake in Korean Air to 11% and may buy more if it needs to. They spent $49 million for the additional 1% stake. It was only last June they made their first 4.3% investment.
There’s currently a power struggle for the airline, with dissident shareholders controlling 37.08% of the company.
Korean Air says they’re making significant changes to their frequent flyer program, but only giving us the briefest sketches of what that might be. A new distance-based award chart is available in Korean and pricing for premium cabin awards, especially long distance premium cabin awards, because much more expensive.
Korean says they’ll be testing cash and miles awards, shifting to more revenue-based mileage-earning and distance-based redemptions, and revamping the elite program. That distance-based redemption chart is what I’m disappointed in.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
