Korean Air

This article is about South Korea's flag carrier, Korean Air. For other airlines based in South Korea, see list of airlines of South Korea. For North Korea's flag carrier formerly known as Korean Airways, see Air Koryo.

Korean Air Lines Co., Ltd. (KAL; Korean: 대한항공) is the flag carrier of South Korea. It is the country's largest airline based on fleet size, international destinations, and international flights. The airline is owned by the Hanjin Group and is a founding member of the SkyTeam alliance and SkyTeam Cargo. As of 2024, it was one of 11 airlines ranked as a 5-star airline by Skytrax. It was also among the top 20 airlines in the world for the number of passengers carried, and it is one of the top-ranked international cargo airlines.

The present-day Korean Air traces its history to March 1, 1969, when the Hanjin group acquired Korean Air Lines, a government-owned airline that had operated since June 1962. Korean Air's international passenger division and its related subsidiary, Korean Air Cargo, together serve 126 cities in 44 countries. Its domestic division serves 13 destinations. The airline's global headquarters is in Seoul, South Korea. As of December 2014, the airline had about 20,540 employees.

Around 1999, the airline was known as "an industry pariah, notorious for fatal crashes." This reputation came from its poor safety record and a large number of incidents and accidents. By 2009, the airline's reputation had improved a great deal. It focused on investing in safety and hired consultants from Boeing and Delta Air Lines to help.

In November 2020, it was announced that Korean Air would merge with its competitor, Asiana Airlines. However, the original merger plan was blocked by the United States Department of Justice because of concerns about monopoly. Korean Air then switched to acquiring a major stake in Asiana instead. The acquisition was completed on December 12, 2024.

History

In 1962, the government of the Republic of Korea acquired Korean National Airlines, which had been founded in 1946, and renamed it Korean Air Lines as a state-owned airline. In 1969, the Hanjin Group bought the airline, which marked the start of Korean Air. Long-haul trans-Pacific freight flights began in 1971, and passenger flights to Los Angeles International Airport followed in 1972. The airline flew Boeing 707s and then Boeing 747s, and it started a European service to Paris, France, using the 707 and then the McDonnell Douglas DC-10. In 1975 it bought three Airbus A300s, becoming one of the earliest Asian airlines to fly Airbus aircraft. Because South Korean planes could not fly through the airspace of North Korea or the Soviet Union, European routes had to go eastward, such as Seoul ~ Anchorage ~ Paris. In 1984 the airline introduced a new livery with a Taegeuk design and changed its name to Korean Air. This livery was first used on its MD-80s and Boeing 747-300s. In the 1990s, the airline was the first to use the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 alongside its Boeing 747-400 aircraft, but the MD-11s did not meet its performance needs and were converted to freighters. Its head office was in the KAL Building on Namdaemunno, Jung District, Seoul.

For many years, Korean Air had a poor safety record and many fatal crashes. In 1999, President Kim Dae-jung called the airline's safety record "an embarrassment to the nation." After a crash of Korean Air Cargo Flight 6316, Delta Air Lines ended its code-sharing partnership with Korean Air, citing safety, and Air Canada and Air France followed. In 2001, the Federal Aviation Administration lowered South Korea's aviation safety rating. The airline later invested heavily in safety, and the rating was restored. In 2000, Korean Air helped found the airline alliance SkyTeam with Aeroméxico, Air France, and Delta Air Lines, and SkyTeam Cargo was founded later that year. In 2008 the low-cost carrier Jin Air began flights to compete with the KTX railway. In 2020, the South Korean Government announced that Korean Air would acquire Asiana Airlines during the COVID-19 pandemic. In December 2024, Korean Air completed the purchase of Asiana. In March 2025, Korean Air unveiled a corporate rebrand made with Lippincott, with a new sans-serif wordmark called "Korean Air Sans" designed by Dalton Maag to replace the earlier Cooper Black typeface.

Main article: Nut rage incident

Main article: Merger of Korean Air and Asiana Airlines

Corporate affairs and identity

Korean Air is owned by the Hanjin Group and mostly controlled by Hanjin KAL Corporation. Walter Cho, its current chairman and CEO, is the third generation of his family to lead the airline. Hanjin KAL's largest shareholder is Delta Air Lines, with 14.90% ownership. As of 5 June 2020, Hanjin KAL held 29.27% of Korean Air shares. The airline's international hub is Terminal 2 at Incheon International Airport. Its headquarters are on the grounds of Gimpo International Airport in Gonghang-dong, Gangseo District, Seoul, and it also has a satellite campus at Incheon. Its other hubs are at Jeju International Airport in Jeju and Gimhae International Airport in Busan, where the maintenance facilities are. Korean Air has been cited as an example of the South Korean "chaebol" system, in which large business groups, set up with government support, spread into many industries. From 1946 until Asiana Airlines was founded in 1988, Korean Air was the only airline operating in South Korea. The sale of Korean National Airlines to Hanjin in 1969 was supported by Park Chung Hee, a military general who became president after seizing power in a military coup. The airline's monopoly lasted until his assassination in 1979. Korean Air owns three hotels, including one in Los Angeles's Wilshire Grand Tower, which houses the largest InterContinental Hotel in the Americas in the tallest building in Los Angeles.

Korean Air is also involved in aerospace. Its Korean Air Aerospace Division (KAL-ASD) has built licensed versions of the MD Helicopters MD 500 and Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, the Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II fighter, and parts for the KF-16 fighter made by Korean Aerospace Industries, as well as parts for many commercial jets. In 1991, the division designed and flew the Korean Air Chang-Gong 91 light aircraft. In October 2012, a development deal between Bombardier Aerospace and a government-led South Korean consortium was announced to build a 90-seat turboprop regional airliner with a 2019 launch date. The consortium would have included Korea Aerospace Industries and Korean Air, but this plan did not come to fruition.

Destinations

Main article: List of Korean Air destinations

Codeshare agreements

Korean Air has codeshare agreements with many airlines around the world, including Aerolíneas Argentinas, Aeroméxico, Air Europa, Air France, Air Tahiti Nui, Air New Zealand, Alaska Airlines, Aurora, China Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Delta Air Lines (Joint Venture Partner), Emirates, Etihad Airways, Garuda Indonesia, Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes, Hainan Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Japan Airlines, Jin Air (Subsidiary), Kenya Airways, KLM, LATAM Brasil, LATAM Chile, LATAM Perú, Malaysia Airlines, MIAT Mongolian Airlines, Myanmar Airways International, Rossiya Airlines, Royal Brunei Airlines, Saudia, Scandinavian Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, SriLankan Airlines, TAROM, Uzbekistan Airways, Vietnam Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, WestJet, and XiamenAir.

Interline agreements

Korean Air also has interline agreements with Air Premia, flydubai, and JetBlue. Korean Air is also an airline partner of Skywards, the frequent-flyer program for Emirates. Skywards members can earn miles for flying Korean Air and can redeem miles for free flights.

Fleet

As of January 2026, Korean Air operates the following aircraft:

In 2018, at the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines Assembly, Korean Air said it was considering a new large wide-body aircraft order to replace older Airbus A330, Boeing 747-400, Boeing 777-200ER, and Boeing 777-300 planes. The Boeing 777X and Airbus A350 XWB were among the types it considered. At the International Air Transport Association Annual General Meeting in Seoul, Chairman Walter Cho said the wide-body order was coming soon and that the airline was considering extra Airbus A220 aircraft, including the developing Airbus A220-500 version. In 2022, Korean Air was also considering a new freighter to keep up with worldwide cargo demand. On 25 August 2025, the freighter choice was finalized with an order for eight Boeing 777-8F aircraft.

Korean Air has operated the following aircraft:

Services

Korean Air currently offers two types of First Class, three types of Business Class (called "Prestige Class"), and one standard Economy Class. First Class seats are installed on all of its Airbus A380-800s, Boeing 747-8Is, and Boeing 777-300ERs. Some Prestige Class seats are doored suites. The airline announced Premium Economy in 2017, and its first aircraft with this cabin, marketed as "Economy Plus Class," was the CS300 (Airbus A220-300). The Premium Economy product was eliminated in 2019 because of problems with service and lost profit. It is set to return on Boeing 777-300ER aircraft as "Premium Class."

Korean Air serves traditional Korean dishes, Western meals, and some Chinese food on certain flights. The choices depend on the route and class. Economy passengers can choose bibimbap served with gochujang and sesame oil, bulgogi rice, or Western dishes such as grilled beef tenderloin and roasted cod. Prestige Class and First Class offer richer dishes, such as tuna bibimbap, spicy beef short ribs, and braised pork belly. Instant cup noodles were once a mid-flight snack in Economy Class, but they have been discontinued because of safety concerns about turbulence. Economy passengers can now buy snacks like pizza and sandwiches at a snack bar. In 2025, Korean Air worked with Inha University to add special meals, including meals for people with gluten intolerant diets. Business class seats have large personal screens, which vary by aircraft. The Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner has 23.8-inch screens, the Airbus A321neo has 24-inch 4K screens, and the Boeing 777 and 787-9 have screens from 15.4 to 18 inches. The system offers movies, TV shows, music including K-pop, and games, and some aircraft support Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

Awards

Korean Air has received many awards over the years. In 2020, it earned a 5-Star Airline Rating from the Skytrax Awards. It was named Airline of the Year by Air Transport World in 2021 and by AirlineRatings.com in 2025. In 2022, it won awards for its cargo service. In 2023 and 2024, readers of Global Traveler's Tested Reader Survey Awards chose it for its business-class seats, its food, its frequent-flyer rewards program (SKYPASS), and its onboard service. In 2026, it received five gold and three silver awards at the Magellan Awards.