Korean Air

I have admittedly not flown Korean Air in about a decade, personally. However, I had some wonderful memories of kind flight attendants who ushered me as a young child into the arrivals area of the airport where my family was waiting. So this recent expereince with Korean Air was all the more disillusioning as well as disappointing.
Because my mother, who is in Korea, wanted to visit me, in New York, and wished to fly Korean Airlines because she also had the impression that the level of service was of a different par, I gladly paid what is actually an exorbitant price on the market for a round trip ticket. Your tickets were marketed on Kayak, an international site which showed the ticket prices in dollar amounts. This is where I ran into my first problem.
Your website does the conversion into Won, which in and of itself would not be a problem, but you make paying with a foreign card near impossible. I was told that I just had to verify that I was the holder of the card. I was purchasing a ticket for my MOTHER! I understand that in this age of identity theft and flight safety you must do your due diligence. However when you make your only branch office located at the Airport which is another 2 hours away from me AND none of your Staff at said Branch pickup or return calls THIS IS THE PROBLEM. I was surprised to learn that what I thought was a major airline was actually a disorganized and disjointed megalith that is less interested in real service and more interested in the outer trappings of «high class». Not one of your «customer representatives» called me back despite several messages I left on the phone, and despite a message that specifically said, «please leave your name and number». When I finally got one on the line by calling an office your supposedly have in Manhattan, she flippantly indicated that I would have to go to the airport. A two hour trip without verifying that anyone would be there.
I had purchased the ticket so I went. There was no one at the desk. In Terminal 1 of JFK in an entire strip of desks that were indicated under Korean air, at the front desk there was no one. I had to ask a neighboring airline how to reach your representatives. I called in an finally one elderly woman shows up and asks me to sign something and that is it. For this I traveled two hours there and two hours back. I asked this disinterested woman, who looked as though I had interrupted something important in her day, if I could establish a skypass card, so I could accrue mileage. She spoke to me as though I were slow and indicated that only the person flying could accrue miles, not the person who was paying for the ticket. Okay, that might be your company policy, but I did not know; and when paying over 1300 dollars for a plane ticket you would think it would be okay to ask. But I suppose not, afterall what do I think I am anyway, a customer?
Has no one ever purchased tickets for their elderly parents through Korean Air before? Exactly what day and age is Korean Air operating in? I am ashamed to be associated with a country, which is supposedly on the cutting edge of technology, who has a national airline that is this behind the times. I cannot be the only person who has ever purchased a ticket for a loved one or friend who is overseas.
Fine. I chalked it up to experience and moved on. Today ⁶⁄₂₅ my mother was supposed to fly into JFK. She made it all the way to the Incheon international airport, dragging luggage before she was stopped at the check-​in desk. They told her she didn’t have a visa. When purchasing the ticket FROM KOREAN AIR, I HAD ASKED WHETHER ANYTHNG ELSE WAS NEEDED, including VISAs. I was quoted that Korea took part in the Visa Wavier program and nothing else was needed. Not even my mother’s passport number.
Now she has called me from the airport. A woman nearing seventy, with all of her bags. I am a bad daughter for not checking on what paperwork she needed. However your staff at the call center are negligent for misinforming me and callous for making sure that when I put on the phone to discuss my options you just wanted to make sure I knew I was paying a 200,000 Won Fee to get a refund of the 15,000,000 Won you charged for an economy seat.
Furthermore, when calling in the request the refund I was asked to put the passenger on the phone. AFTER I had said that I was in New York and the Passenger was in Korea… ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!
You know what? Keep the fee, even for the lack of service, the running around you made me do, and ultimately the fact that my mother was turned away at the airport that she went to despite your county people walking around in masks fearing MERS. I have learned a valuable lesson, that sometimes the media is correct and that perhaps an airline that values warm nuts over customer service is not one worth flying.
I look forward to telling people about my experience with Korean Air. In the future, I will be sure to remember this disgusting episode as the ending of my exp

I book a flight with them 3 months ago to fly my parents from China to New York for my wedding. However, two weeks ago, they suddenly change the flight so my parents flight here won’t connect any more. Basically,
first leg: 10AM — 4PM on July 21^st, was 12AM –6 AM
second leg: leaves at 12PM on July21st.
Who the heck does that?
And when I called them, they told me I have to call my travel agency to get them to do it. And when I called, it turns out Korean Air didn’t even inform them about it!
Unfortunately my traveling agency (vayama from kayak) is equally shady, I called them the entire last week and they tell me they will resolve it the next day or in 2 days or next week but nothing got done.
There’s less than a month left and I might have to get another flight.
tl;dr screwed over my connecting flights and refuse to change it.
& now they blacklisted my phone number and had to call with skype. Really?

I purchased a business class ticket (JFK-​ICN) one week prior to departure date (Jan 8 ’15) when the price was full. The only reason I purchased Korean Air over Asiana was because of their newer flights, A380, advertised to service JFK and ICN, regardless of all the controversies with the «Peanut» and «Bobby Kim» incidents. However, my returning flight (Feb 2 ’15) changed to old 777 aircraft without any notification. I called Korean Air customer service on Feb 1 to confirm my seat, and checked on the Korean Air website on the day of departure and confirmed that there was NO CHANGE. However, when I arrived at the airport, Korean Air agent told me that the aircraft changed to something other than A380 on Jan 29. I confronted that why I was not notified and their customer service confirmed my seat yesterday over the phone and their website still shows A380. They said that they are sorry and their MANUAL says not to compensate anything in this case. I was furious and demanded them to upgrade to first class, but they refused.
Long story short, here are the facts:
1. DECEPTIVE ADVERTISING: Korean Air advertises all over the world that they service JFK ICN with their newer aircraft, A380. NOT!!! I was on an old smelly 777 with NO LOUNGE, BAR in the business class. A380 WAS THE ONLY REASON I CHOSE OVER ASIANA!
2. USELESS WEBSITE: Koran Air website showed A380 on the day of the departure. WHAT A JOKE!
3. STUPID MANUAL: NO UPGRADE for swapping a BMW with Hyundai with no notificaions???

My first time flying Korean Air, and it was so wonderful that I wish I could fly with them EVERY.SINGLE.TIME.
From friendly and helpful attendants who defined great customer service to delicious meals that I can actually eat, the whole team blew me away, and although it was a long flight lasted more than fourteen hours, I had the most comfortable and pleasant flight –as comfortable and pleasant as a flight can be-​.
Recommended!

first international trip for me in a looooong time. went from JFK to Seoul in their Airbus A-380−800 which is their biggest plane. I sat in coach and the seats were very comfortable with a 10.6 touch screen for movies and other entertainment. the free movies had new releases, top hits, kids, Asian as well as classics. The food choices are Asian and American along with a lot of snacks and free alcohol.
The flight attendants were great and spoke English very well. I could see that they were very good to kids. Great experience and it made the 13 ½ hour flight bearable

I fly between JFK and Seoul regularly, and the service is always really great. Food is great, plane is clean and there is plenty of room for everyone. If you are lucky to be able to access it, try the bar at the rear of the aircraft on the top deck, it a great break from the routine of a long flight.
Recommended airline.

Best Airline Ever! 5 Star everything… I flew with Korean Air on an International Flight to Thailand (and Back to NYC), they are by far the best airline I have ever experienced.
Their in-​flight service and hospitality is exceptional, they are very attentive to all of your needs, even going the extra mile… especially during 18+ hour International flights, their seats are comfortable, their in-​flight entertainment is the best I have ever experienced, entertainment included personal TV Screens for you to enjoy, giving you many option to choose from, from the newest unreleased Hollywood Blockbuster hits to the latest TV shows, music and games.
Their in-​flight food was delicious, they offer many snacks every 1 or 2 hours such as ice cream, coffee, cakes, juices, wine, noodle soups etc… more importantly they offer you a variety of complimentary drinks every hour, they included 3 full meals such as breakfast, lunch and dinner during our long flight (s), their meals were Korean inspired dishes which were interesting and really good I might add.
Korean Air goes above and beyond from the moment you enter their Plane… their inflight service is exceptional… in fact they offer and give you more than you need or expect.
I could not as for a better or more comfortable flight for my International traveling needs. I will make sure to Travel with Korean Air again.

This airline is first rate.
Took the A380 to and from Seoul. Kind, impeccable, dogged service. Good food. Great big TV. Dote over kids. Flight attendants are wonderful. Seats are big and comfortable. Economy class has the feel of business class (well, almost).
Negative review below is clearly from a psycho.
Made a 14 hour flight bearable and comfortable with wonderful service, smooth ride, and great entertainment. Would recommend to anyone though flight cam that shows outside the plane (down, forward/pilot’s view, and from tail) was not for everyone – I personally liked it on landing and takeoff.

They have some newer planes lately, boeing 777 – 300, economy class, leg room/​pitch is 34 inches. Best of any airline I’ve checked going to Asia. When you need to be on a plane for 14 hours, what can be more important?! And the big screen tv is a nice touch, I’m not a very good flyer though I slept half of the flight at least, usually I’d be lucky if I can fall asleep for 2.
Food was standard, though I think all Asian airline has better food than Americans generally.
Oh, and pretty stewardess too! ;)

Great service by far of any airline. The flight attendants are all young and very friendly. They try to help you in anyway possible. I am a frequent flyer on Delta. Because KAL is part of SkyTeam, I get the same elite treatment from KAL. Once they even upgraded me to Business class for free due to my status. I took United once round trip to Korea, and it was by far the worst flight experience ever! Food was wrapped in plastic wrap and it was cold. Drinks were just soft drinks, and all the seats were sunken in. I had a bad back ache by the time I landed.
KAL food is great. They serve wine with all their meals, no charge. They even give great hot snacks.

NO NO NO NO NO!!! I used Korean Air on my first ever international flight to Japan. I was nervous about the whole ordeal, so my folks drove me down to JFK we get a bite to eat and I head to the boarding area. I get greeted by the stewardesses and get to my seat. I buckle up and about 15 minutes later we are taxiing down the runway then we are airborne. Now I am watching our progress on this plasma screen TV. So about 30 minutes into the flight the stewardesses ask if we want the Korean or American meal. Christ I start thinking about Airplane the movie. So I say Korean, BIG MISTAKE!!! it was an airline version of Bibimbop. so I am watching our flight monitor and munching away. Then I just sit back and tried to relax for the next 15.5 hours. Into the first hour my stomach makes a screeching whale sound, I run to one of the 12 toilets and do my business. I think I am in the clear and rehydrate. NOPE 2 hours later my gut is HOWLING! I go running back in and would you believe I had a little Korean lady knocking on the door, I screamed «FIND ANOTHER TOILET!!!» she muttered something in Korean. I come out and just try to sleep it off I wake up to look at the monitor we are STILL over Canada heading towards Alaska now I am antsy. Thankfully I was allowed to walk around the cabin because the flight had roughly 170 people on it out of like 400 seats. So I sat in the back and just wanted to get to Korea and connect to my flight in Osaka Japan. So the moral of the story do not get the Korean food and don’t sit next to the a-​hole who says «wasn’t this the airliner that got shot down by the Russians???» Back to the toilet again.