I'm looking into a Delta flight that uses Korean air to fly from Atlanta to Nagoya. What is the quality of that carrier?

good

My friend travels with them to Korea quite a bit on business. She says they are similar in quality to Delta if that helps any.

We flew Korean Air from Seoul to Atlanta in Dec. and my only complaint was that they didn't have individual entertainment set-ups. It was the old style movie screen at the front of the plane for those in the cheap seats. To make matters worse the movie was The Dukes of Hazzard. However the flight was smooth, the attendants were beautiful and it was the cleanest plane I have ever been on. I felt like I had more butt and leg room than I had on other flights. I use the lav. quite frequently and they were always spotless and stocked with lotion, mouthwash, face spritz, etc.. I actually saw one of the attendants sweeping the floors. The food was pretty good and they were constantly offering water and juice thru the entire flight. They asked the passengers to fold their blankets and leave them on the seats when leaving and people actually did it. We flew Delta out of Atlanta back to Phila. and the plane looked as if a tornado had hit during the 2 hour flight. I would not hesitate to fly Korean Air again but I would make sure I had a good book. I think some of their flights have individual seat entertainment but you'll have to check.

I don't mean to scare you, but Korean Air has one of the very worst safety records in the whole wide world. Many pilots were discharged from the airforce and they don't know how to fly civilian jets. I flew Korean Air once--trust me, it was like a roller coaster.

The airfare may be cheaper but I am sure that a little bit more money is worth it for your personal safety.

Where are you getting these facts? I could be mistaken, but when I looked this up prior to our Jan flights, the poor record was from 1999. The safety record has improved substantially since then for everything I could find. Assuming that the safety record is not an issue, we found the report of mileaday 100% accurate. I will add the food was pretty awful, with the exception of the Korean entree, offered only once per flight. That was delicious and I'd pay for it in a restaurant. And yes, some of the planes had seatback screens, most did not. Do bring the book.

Korean Airlines was one of the most dangerous if not THE MOST dangerous one from the mid-80's to late 90's; they were neck-and-neck with China Airlines of Taiwan. That's a fact in the history books.

Now, how past record is an indication of current safety, it's hard to tell. Personally, I think they've really changed the ways of doing things, and I wouldn't hesitate to fly them myself, or putting my family on them.

But others may see things differently, and I am not one to ridicule that.

The website to check is www.airsafe.com for accident statistics. Korean Air has not had an accident with a fatality since 1997. So it's current stats look pretty good. In the past, it had a (justifiably) bad reputation.

The list here: http://www.airdisaster.com/cgi-bin/s...rean+Air+Lines is a little more comprehensive. Their record isn't great, but we have to keep in mind that two of their biggest crashes were caused by a terrorist bomb and being shot down by Russia. I don't know that I would count either of these when weighing their safety record. Personally, I'd fly on them if the price is right. Their record for the last several years is pretty good.

Actually, there were two more fatal accidents in 1999, but both were Korean Cargo planes. One MD-11 in Shanghai and one 747 in Stansted.

But anyways, I would say that all things considered, their fatality record during the 80's and 90's were definitely better than China Airlines. I was wrong in my earlier post.

Talking about air safety has anyone any comments on Air China or China Eastern?

Neither Air China or China Eastern have a major crash since the breakup of CAAC almost 20 years ago.

I flew Korean Air to Japan and back last summer. The flight attendants were very attentive. They seemed to be feeding us every few hour. I would not hesitate to use them again.

I've used Korean Air three times from Atlanta to Bangkok and each time has been as nice (or better) than any Delta flight. Their staff are wonderful and the food is good for airline food. The flights have been almost turbulence-free.