Korean Air celebrated the 30-year anniversary of the commencement of its scheduled service between the UK and South Korea with an event at London’s British Museum, attended by industry officials and Korean Air representatives.
Sir Richard Lambert, Chairman of the British Museum, Mr. Byung-Ryool Park, Korean Air managing vice president for Europe and Mr. Guillaume Acolas, Korean Air commercial director for Europe recognised the anniversary, alongside regional manager UK & Ireland Mr. Jong Rae Kim.
As well as the impressive surroundings of the British Museum’s Nereid Gallery, guests celebrated Korean Air’s achievements in UK for the last 30 years and enjoyed traditional Korean entertainment and a prize draw.
September 1988 saw a Korean Air’s Boeing 747E aircraft from Seoul via Anchorage touchdown at London’s Gatwick Airport heralding the commencement of the service. Starting once a week, the flights soon increased to three times a week and then to the present daily non-stop flight in 2004. Now, London-Seoul route is one of the main routes for Korean Air, carrying more than 200,000 passengers in 2017. The airline provides customers with a convenient daily schedule for travel between London and Seoul, with a wide connecting network in Asia and Oceania, via the newly-opened Incheon International Airport Terminal 2.
Korean Air moved to London Heathrow’s terminal 3 in 1991. In 2000, the airline was a founder member of the SkyTeam airline alliance and in 2009 SkyTeam member airlines collaborated to build the alliance’s presence at London Heathrow with the opening of a shared facility and a two-floor SkyTeam Exclusive lounge at Terminal 4 – now Korean Air’s UK home.
Korean Air regional manager UK & Ireland Mr. Jong Rae Kim said, “The UK has one of the world’s most vibrant aviation industries and Korean Air’s passenger and freight services between Seoul and London have shown significant growth over the years. Korean Air celebrates its 50th anniversary next year and we are proud that 30 years in the UK has been part of the success story.”