Is Korean Airlines really that bad?

Old Apr 8th, 2004, 11:00 AM
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Is Korean Airlines really that bad?

I've been trying to find a decent airfare to Vietnam this summer. The problem is that it's "high season", but it's the only time I can travel.

The best price I can find is $890 R/T on Korean Air. I would prefer Cathay Pacific or even EVA, but they are both a minimum of $1200. The difference in cost ($620 for two tickets) is considerable, almost a week's worth of travel expenses in Vietnam.

So, how bad is Korean Air really? My husband really does not want to fly on Korean Air. I know that've had some issues in the past, but my understanding is that they've improved a lot in the last couple of years.

Anyone here have any recent experience flying them to Asia? Know where I can get their current safety records?

Thanks!
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Old Apr 8th, 2004, 11:13 AM
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Have you checked out Asianna? We flew them to Hong Kong and they were great!
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Old Apr 8th, 2004, 11:18 AM
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Yes, the price on Asiana was somewhere in the middle, about $1050. But I haven't heard great things about them either.
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Old Apr 8th, 2004, 11:20 AM
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a good friend flies kal, and he says the service and food are excellent. he is not worried about their safety record. the price is right. i think its a personal decision for you. is it worth it to save a few bucks and fly with an airline that seems to have problems with navigation and pilot proficiency, or spend the extra money and fly with an airline with an excellent safety record? i have never flown on kal. i only know about them from my friend's accolades, and from what i read in the news...like when they were shot down for intruding into soviet airspace.
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Old Apr 8th, 2004, 11:44 AM
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That flight being shot down is why my husband won't fly them.
He was a teenager, on flight back from Tokyo, on a (different) Korean flight when that happened. Scared his parents to death. But it was almost 20 years ago...
So, anyone???
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Old Apr 8th, 2004, 11:47 AM
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I have heard iffy things about Korean Air also. However last month I did fly with them on a midnight flight from LAX to Seoul and then on to Bangkok. Later I flew with them from Hong Kong to Seoul and onto LAX.

There was a problem when I flew from LAX to Seoul. Three hours prior to arrival, the lights were turned on so that the crew could sell duty free goods. It was a nightmare.

Although the service is very good, if you want to sleep, I would recommend flying with another company. Yet in all fairness, they did not turn on the lights on my return flight. So you can take your chances.
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Old Apr 8th, 2004, 11:53 AM
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Here's a website with some numbers and information:

http://www.airsafe.com/events/regions/asia.htm

But don't forget two other major crashes of Korean Airlines' Cargo planes:

Dec, 1999 - 747 freighter crahsed at London Stansted. All 4 crew member died.

April, 1998 - MD-11 freighter crahsed into buiding in Shanghai. 3 crew member and 5 on the ground killed.

Nothing since 1999, and no passenger plane crash since Guam in 1997. Delta supposedly had worked with Korean Air on its safety and training. It probably has been working.
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Old Apr 8th, 2004, 12:17 PM
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that crash in guam was absolutely horrible. pilot missjudged the distance to the runway, and crashed into a hill. but....don't get me wrong, if kal had a$100 fare from sfo to paris, i'd be first in line. the price is right. does delta still have a partnership with kal? i thought delta terminated that relationship few years ago because of all these crashes.
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Old Apr 8th, 2004, 12:26 PM
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DL pulled out of its codeshare agreement after the serious of crashes in the late 90's, but later they were satisfied with the progress. KE is now an important partner in Skyteam, and DL codeshares with them on basically every N. American route that KE flies from Seoul - Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, LA, Honolulu, NY, San Fran, Washington, Anchorage; plus a whole bunch of intra-Asian routes.
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Old Apr 8th, 2004, 01:06 PM
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rkkwan-
That's a great website! Thank you!

Saulmax-thanks for sharing your experience.
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Old Apr 8th, 2004, 02:16 PM
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I highly recommend Korean Air business class.The service and food were divine.
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Old Apr 8th, 2004, 06:45 PM
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Fatal incidents is probably not the best measure of problems on an airline. You really want to know about events like inflight shutdowns (times when they had to shut down an engine) and whether there have been any threats of revoking thie airline's certification to fly long distances overwater. Fatal events are so rare (statsitically, you are in MUCH more danger getting to the airport) that they don't say as much as more frequent events. The real questions are about the training of the pilots (most accifdents are caused by pilot error) and airplane maintence.
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Old Apr 8th, 2004, 08:02 PM
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While you can predict future crashes with past records, I think you cannot just disregard them. And the fact that air crashes are very rare actually highlights the problems with Korean Air in the 80's and 90's.

Even more troubling is that all the major Korean Airlines losses are mainly contributed to human errors - specifically the pilots in command. None of the accidents are because of major problem with the planes themselves. This is true in Tripoli, in Guam, in London, in Shanghai. To me, that suggests a systematic problem, and not just freak accidents.

And even KAL 007 shot down by the Soviets... I didn't know it before researching for this thread, but in 1978, a Korean flight from Paris to Seoul diverted from its flight path, and was shot at by a Soviet fighter, killing 2. This is just 5 years before 007. Apparently, someone didn't learn their lesson.

That is why Korean Air has gotten such bad reputation. Not just because they had a higher fatality rate than most airlines. But because there is a clear pattern.
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Old Apr 10th, 2004, 12:22 AM
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My wife and I are traveling to Bangkok with KE in November. When looking at my options using skyteam awards tix KE was the only choice we could get. I had reservations, did some research and was satisfied that they had their act together. They hired Delta's safety expert to totally overhall their cockpit training and protocol and apparrently this seems to be working (asian tradition of not questioning a sr officer led to a lot of the crashes). Anyways the posts on KE service seem to be excellent, although the inflight product seems to be a little dated, new upgrades are on the way.
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