I caught up over coffee recently with Korean Air executive John E. Jackson III - and catching up wasn't easy. This was both because Jackson, a long-time veteran of the company, is a busy guy and because KAL is busy pursuing high-flying plans.
Jackson, an affable American who served as the carrier's first non-Korean marketing director, was perhaps genetically fated to work in the airline business. "When I grew up, both of my parents were working for Delta,'' he says with a grin. "I took my first airplane ride when I was two weeks old.''
These days, the Los Angeles-based Jackson is KAL's vice president for passenger marketing and sales, the Americas. In line with that, he notes that KAL, which flies more trans-Pacific flights between the United States and Asia than any other airline, will be bringing one of its first superjumbo doubledecker Airbus A380s to New York this summer. Next month, in fact, flying non-stop daily service between South Korea's Seoul/Incheon International Airport and New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Here are excerpts from our conversation, with more details about Korean's corporate flight plan:
"We're going to put fewer seats on the A380 than any other airline: 403 - 12 in first class, 301 in economy and 92 in business. We'll devote the whole upper deck to business, the first airline to do so. The aircraft is big but it's not meant to hold 900 people.
"We're also going to install the first duty-free shop on an A380. There will be a bar and lounge on the upper deck, and they will be open for the whole flight.
"We derive 50 percent of our revenue from premium class customers. We have the product to support it. And the route structure, we've got that.
"We anticipate a lot of business and corporate travel on the New York route. A lot of the Fortune 500 companies are in the East, in New York.
"This year,'' he continues, "we'll be adding 20 percent more flights between Asia and the Americas. China is huge for us. (Due to the tragic Japan earthquake and radiation leak), a lot of people who used to transit through Tokyo, are transiting through Seoul/Incheon. A lot of people are experiencing our service. The airport is so well thought-of. It's definitely one of our advantages to have that airport.
''We're flying daily in San Francisco, daily in Seattle. We're going from three flights a week to five in Dallas, doing 10 a week from Chicago. We're up to five daily flights out of LAX (Los Angeles). We're very bullish on the L.A. market. The Korean market there is very important.''
Jackson acknowledges that KAL, like other airlines, lost some altitude during the global recession, but says the worst appears to be past.
"I wouldn't characterize it (business) as strong, but it's certainly coming back. We're probably back to about where we were. So, we've recovered, though we're about two years behind where we'd wanted to be. We've returned to profitability. A couple of years ago, the won (South Korea's currency) really dropped. We pay our fuel bills in U.S. dollars. Hedging fuel prices? No, we don't do a whole lot of it.''
Beyond North America, "We're looking seriously at every country in South America'' for possible explansion, Jackson says. But this will be done prudently. "Everybody's looking for yields thes days before you start to add flights.''
KAL also has a unit that operates business jets, coordinating that service with its regularly scheduled commercial flights. This, he says, is a growing niche. "There are a lot of companies that are using business jets, even those that own their own jets.''
With that, our coffee klatch is over. Jackson is outta here. Catching a plane, of course.
Showing posts with label Korean Air. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Korean Air. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
The Big Bird Returns to the Sky, Gradually
The largest commercial passenger jet ever built - Airbus's A380 superjumbo - was widely grounded late last year, when problems with engines built by Rolls Royce forced first Qantas, then Singapore Airliness and others, to curtain or even stop flying the big bird. The engines have been tweaked, the problems seem to have been worked out and airlines are gradually returning the A380 to service, as well as announcing new routes for the humongous double-decker plane.
This good for Airbus, of course, as several hundred of the aircraft are on order, led by petrodollar-rich Middle Eastern airlines. It's good for congested airports in that more of these planes once put into service could help ease congestion by moving people with fewer flights. It's good for the airlines, as they can fully utilize growing fleets. And it should be good for travelers; flying in the A380 is a memorable and usually positive experience.
Qantas is returning its superjumbos to service, having resumed flights between Sydney and Los Angeles International as of Jan. 16.
Singapore Airways recently announced it will deploy the big plane between LAX and Tokyo, with continuing service to Singapore, as of March 27.
Korean Air plans to launch service from New York's John F. Kennedy International to Seoul/Inchon International on Aug. 2, the first use of an A380 between New York and Asia. On Oct.1, Korean will ramp up some more, using the A380 between LAX and South Korea.
As it happens, I was on the first-ever scheduled commercial flight of an Airbus A380. That was Singapore Airlines's aptly numbered flight 380, from Singapore to Sydney on Oct. 25, 2007. I remember it as one big party, some eight hours long, with people popping in and out of their seats, drinking bubbly and snapping pictures of each other. The aircraft was memorably and impressively spacious and extraordinarily quiet for a plane its size.
Last month, I had lunch with James Boyd, a vice president communications in the Americas for Singapore Air, who told me that as of then ''11 Airbus A380s are back in the air. It's a well-received and reliable aircraft. We've carried 3 million passengers on our A380s and flown hundreds of thousands of miles. It's a well-performing aircraft, and 40 percent more quiet." Quieter than other jumbo jets, that is.
Speaking of SQ, Boyd said that his airline at the end of March will commence thrice-weekly service between Singapore and Barcelona. SQ also eyes three-times weekly service to Sao Paolo, pending approval from the government of Brazil. "It's an open space in our network,'' he said.
SQ plans to use Boeing 777ERs configured into three classes for its South America service.
In the meantime, it's evidently wheels-up for the A380 superjumbo, following the necessary safety fixes. It's good to have the big bird back in the sky.
This good for Airbus, of course, as several hundred of the aircraft are on order, led by petrodollar-rich Middle Eastern airlines. It's good for congested airports in that more of these planes once put into service could help ease congestion by moving people with fewer flights. It's good for the airlines, as they can fully utilize growing fleets. And it should be good for travelers; flying in the A380 is a memorable and usually positive experience.
Qantas is returning its superjumbos to service, having resumed flights between Sydney and Los Angeles International as of Jan. 16.
Singapore Airways recently announced it will deploy the big plane between LAX and Tokyo, with continuing service to Singapore, as of March 27.
Korean Air plans to launch service from New York's John F. Kennedy International to Seoul/Inchon International on Aug. 2, the first use of an A380 between New York and Asia. On Oct.1, Korean will ramp up some more, using the A380 between LAX and South Korea.
As it happens, I was on the first-ever scheduled commercial flight of an Airbus A380. That was Singapore Airlines's aptly numbered flight 380, from Singapore to Sydney on Oct. 25, 2007. I remember it as one big party, some eight hours long, with people popping in and out of their seats, drinking bubbly and snapping pictures of each other. The aircraft was memorably and impressively spacious and extraordinarily quiet for a plane its size.
Last month, I had lunch with James Boyd, a vice president communications in the Americas for Singapore Air, who told me that as of then ''11 Airbus A380s are back in the air. It's a well-received and reliable aircraft. We've carried 3 million passengers on our A380s and flown hundreds of thousands of miles. It's a well-performing aircraft, and 40 percent more quiet." Quieter than other jumbo jets, that is.
Speaking of SQ, Boyd said that his airline at the end of March will commence thrice-weekly service between Singapore and Barcelona. SQ also eyes three-times weekly service to Sao Paolo, pending approval from the government of Brazil. "It's an open space in our network,'' he said.
SQ plans to use Boeing 777ERs configured into three classes for its South America service.
In the meantime, it's evidently wheels-up for the A380 superjumbo, following the necessary safety fixes. It's good to have the big bird back in the sky.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Korean Air's Comeback Kids
INCHEON, KOREA - Time was when Korean Air couldn't buy a break. Troubled by high-profile disasters, South Korea's biggest airline was dogged in the 1980s and '90s by a poor reputation.
What a difference a decade makes. Korean brought in international aviation experts to consult with company leaders, raised the bar on its product, retooled its once-hidebound corporate culture and is now one of the world's most respected and forward-looking airlines.
I'm seeing the results first hand, having flown from New York JFK to Incheon International Airport, just outside Seoul, Korea's capital and largest city, on a beautifully appointed and well-run Boeing 777. I flew in business class - which KAL calls Prestige - and it was a delight. The food and beverages - who would sneer at Laurent Perrier Champagne and spicy Korean beef? - were first-rate. The flat-bed seat on this triple-7 was just this month made flatter, wider and longer. The LCD monitors at every Prestige seat were enlarged and graced with sharp definition. There were dozens of movies, games and TV shows, accessed through a remote or touch-screen. Best of all, the superbly trained staff was attentive without being intrusive.
I met afterwards at KAL's headquarters on the edge of Seoul with two KAL executives: Steve Sukwan Kim, general manager passenger marketing development team, and Arnold(Boyoung) Song, team leader of the U.S. route management team.They said the carrier would press ahead with cabin upgrades, the purchase of new aircraft and other plans, despite the weak global economy and weakening of South Korea's currency, the won.
Although it's not widely known, KAL operates more trans-Pacific flights between Asia and North America - about 90 departures per week this summer - than any other airline. The carrier flies often to neighboring China and Japan and promotes Incheon International as a major hub and transfer point in East Asia. The sparkling, seaside airport was opened on reclaimed land in 2001 and has expanded continuously since then, with still-more growth in the works.
Kim said KAL expects to take possession of its first superjumbo Airbus A380 in December of 2010, and receive the fuel-efficient Boeing B787 Dreamliner by 2011. KAL, Kim and Song said, will make first use of the A380 on flights to Los Angeles International Airport and JFK. They wouldn't disclose how many seats will be on the huge aircraft, but they did say they won't be putting closed-door suites in first class.
"The cabin crews say it makes it too hard to communicate with passengers, and the passengers feel uncomfortable,'' Song says.
He said KAL plans to spend $200 million USD over the next several years upgrading the seats in all three classes and is considering whether to add a premium economy class. In the present collapse of premium international business travel, many airlines have done well with premium economy, given that companies have forced executives to trade down and/or cut back on air travel. Indeed, business class on my New York-Incheon flight was only about one-third full.
Despite sagging load factors, "We won't consider cutting business class fares,'' Kim says. "We want to maintain a certain level of fares in business class. But we will offer them more.''
This is not the time for Korean to cut back, as many other airlines have done, the two men say. Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year - the former national flag carrier was privatized in 1969 - the company wants to look forward, not backward.
Korean has had a hard history until this decade. In 1983, in a notorious Cold War attack, a Soviet fighter shot down a KAL flight over Siberia with much loss of life, and in 1997 a KAL jetliner crashed near Guam, killing over 200 people.
While no one can afford to be complacent about safety at any time - witness the recent Air France tragedy over the Atlantic - Korean has improved its safety record dramatically, in line with its other broad and deep improvements. The carrier is now one of the world's 20 largest airlines and is actually no. 1 in volume of cargo . In the estimation of this frequent flier, KAL is one of the 10 best airlines for customer for service in the world. The turnaround is quite remarkable. Korean Air's comeback kids have something to be proud of.
What a difference a decade makes. Korean brought in international aviation experts to consult with company leaders, raised the bar on its product, retooled its once-hidebound corporate culture and is now one of the world's most respected and forward-looking airlines.
I'm seeing the results first hand, having flown from New York JFK to Incheon International Airport, just outside Seoul, Korea's capital and largest city, on a beautifully appointed and well-run Boeing 777. I flew in business class - which KAL calls Prestige - and it was a delight. The food and beverages - who would sneer at Laurent Perrier Champagne and spicy Korean beef? - were first-rate. The flat-bed seat on this triple-7 was just this month made flatter, wider and longer. The LCD monitors at every Prestige seat were enlarged and graced with sharp definition. There were dozens of movies, games and TV shows, accessed through a remote or touch-screen. Best of all, the superbly trained staff was attentive without being intrusive.
I met afterwards at KAL's headquarters on the edge of Seoul with two KAL executives: Steve Sukwan Kim, general manager passenger marketing development team, and Arnold(Boyoung) Song, team leader of the U.S. route management team.They said the carrier would press ahead with cabin upgrades, the purchase of new aircraft and other plans, despite the weak global economy and weakening of South Korea's currency, the won.
Although it's not widely known, KAL operates more trans-Pacific flights between Asia and North America - about 90 departures per week this summer - than any other airline. The carrier flies often to neighboring China and Japan and promotes Incheon International as a major hub and transfer point in East Asia. The sparkling, seaside airport was opened on reclaimed land in 2001 and has expanded continuously since then, with still-more growth in the works.
Kim said KAL expects to take possession of its first superjumbo Airbus A380 in December of 2010, and receive the fuel-efficient Boeing B787 Dreamliner by 2011. KAL, Kim and Song said, will make first use of the A380 on flights to Los Angeles International Airport and JFK. They wouldn't disclose how many seats will be on the huge aircraft, but they did say they won't be putting closed-door suites in first class.
"The cabin crews say it makes it too hard to communicate with passengers, and the passengers feel uncomfortable,'' Song says.
He said KAL plans to spend $200 million USD over the next several years upgrading the seats in all three classes and is considering whether to add a premium economy class. In the present collapse of premium international business travel, many airlines have done well with premium economy, given that companies have forced executives to trade down and/or cut back on air travel. Indeed, business class on my New York-Incheon flight was only about one-third full.
Despite sagging load factors, "We won't consider cutting business class fares,'' Kim says. "We want to maintain a certain level of fares in business class. But we will offer them more.''
This is not the time for Korean to cut back, as many other airlines have done, the two men say. Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year - the former national flag carrier was privatized in 1969 - the company wants to look forward, not backward.
Korean has had a hard history until this decade. In 1983, in a notorious Cold War attack, a Soviet fighter shot down a KAL flight over Siberia with much loss of life, and in 1997 a KAL jetliner crashed near Guam, killing over 200 people.
While no one can afford to be complacent about safety at any time - witness the recent Air France tragedy over the Atlantic - Korean has improved its safety record dramatically, in line with its other broad and deep improvements. The carrier is now one of the world's 20 largest airlines and is actually no. 1 in volume of cargo . In the estimation of this frequent flier, KAL is one of the 10 best airlines for customer for service in the world. The turnaround is quite remarkable. Korean Air's comeback kids have something to be proud of.
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