Carrier serving both Vancouver and Toronto
IAN STALKER
Korean Air proudly notes that it’s delivering Canadians to its homeland on a daily basis and providing a convenient link to much of the continent that Korea is in as well. And Daechul Jung, the carrier’s Canada country manager, notes that his airline offers passengers distinctive reminders of Korea while carrying them across the Pacific Ocean.
Korean Air currently operates two routes to Canada, with daily flights between Seoul Incheon and Vancouver, and six weekly flights between Seoul Incheon and Toronto. During the summer season, the airline serves Toronto with daily flights, and is considering operating daily flights year-round.
“Our Canada routes have quite a varied demand, ranging from business travellers, tourists to Korean students and expats,” Jung tell Travel Courier. “We are working to provide the most convenient schedules and fleet to meet the demand of these groups. Our Canadian routes not only provide convenient schedules for travel between Vancouver/Toronto and Seoul Incheon, but also for travel to a wide range of cities in Asia via our hub at Incheon Airport. We plan to expand our cooperation with Canadian airlines to connect customers from other cities in Canada to Asia.
Jung says the final destination for about 50% of travellers departing from Canada are cities in Asia beyond Seoul — 37% in Southeast Asia and 13% in China.
“The most popular destinations other than Korea are Manila, Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Cebu, Shanghai, Phnom Phen, Beijing and Shenyang in the order of popularity,” he says.
“Customers can fly in either our Prestige (business) or economy class. On our Toronto route, we operate the Boeing 787-9, and business class travellers can enjoy our Prestige Suites. On our Vancouver route, we currently operate the Boeing 777-300ER, but from April the Boeing 787-9 will also be used.”
Korean, Western, Chinese and Japanese dishes are served on Korean Air flights. Meals can be checked on the airline’s website in advance and passengers with special dietary needs can make special meal requests 24 hours in advance on the website or through the service centres. Passengers in Prestige class departing from Incheon are also able to pre-order their inflight meals at least 24 hours in advance. Snacks are also offered, and Jung says the airline offers “an excellent selection of wines curated in collaboration with Marc Almert, a renowned sommelier.”
There is usually always at least one Korean meal option during the flights, Jung reports.
“Our signature Korean meal is bibimbap, and we’ve recently expanded our Korean meal selection to include dishes such as bulgogi rice with acorn jelly in cold broth, spicy noodles and spicy pork lettuce wraps,” he continues. “The airline has also created videos to demonstrate to our passengers the best way to enjoy these Korean dishes. Last year, the airline also developed and introduced Korean-style vegan meal options inspired by Korean traditional temple cuisine. These meals can be pre-ordered by passengers departing from Incheon.”
Korean Air has operated charter flights to cities such as Calgary and Quebec and Jung says it sees growth potential in this country but doesn’t plan to add new Canadian routes in the near future.
