I've just signed up for a 14-day tour to Thailand with Smartours, and they are using Korean Air from LAX. I've heard some horror stories about Korean Air. Should I be concerned??? <BR><BR>comments about Smartours area also welcome, though a search of this forum indicates a very positive response to this organization.

Korean Air is one of the two worst airlines in the world - safety concern not service. But look at it at a different side: say they crash 10 planes a year (doubt it), it is even not one a month. A lot of tours buy it because of the low fare. The call is yours. I can only recommend to buy a good travel insurance - the credit card insu. doesn't cover as many items as regular insu. do.

My husband and I flew Korean Air to Bangkok last January with SmarTours and had the same concerns you expressed. I talked to my son-in-law who is a pilot and he assured me the problems that had plagued Korean Air in the past had been solved and the former president of the airline was in prison! We had a great trip over and back, great service, food etc. And SmarTours can't be beat for providing great tours at great prices. We are going to Australia with them next month.

Never mind opinions, the facts are that Korean Air has been sanctioned by our own FAA for maintenance, procedure, and record-keeping violations. As part of this procedure, Delta dropped their code-shares with them. This has had a tremendous financial impact on the airline and ostensibly motivated them to "clean up their act." However, I believe the sanctions are still in place.<BR>

Okay, your're correct: forget opinions. I did a search on the web for the most current safety report card, and find that on a scale of A to F, Korean Air currently rates a "B". (Yes, it's true that this is improved from it's prior "F" grade.) <BR><BR>For those interested:<BR>http://www.airsafetyonline.com/safetycenter/reportcard.shtml<BR>

Delta has reinstated its codshare with Korean Air.