Korean Air (KAL) will finally start seeing tangible benefits of being a member of the SkyTeam alliance in the coming months when codeshare agreements take effect with alliance partners Air France and Delta Air Lines.
The South Korean flag carrier, which lost several codeshare partners due to a series of accidents between 1997 and 1999, has now signed long-awaited deals with its two main SkyTeam allies.
Under the agreements, codesharing with Air France will take effect from 1 April and with Delta from 1 May.
KAL codeshared with the two before SkyTeam was established, but its partners suspended arrangements in 1999 as a result of safety concerns.
The Korean carrier has since been working aggressively to improve its operation and says Air France and Delta were happy with its efforts after carrying out a joint audit in line with French and US government regulations.
Under the terms of the new agreements, Air France will codeshare on KAL-operated flights between Seoul and Paris, and later on KAL flights beyond Seoul to other Asian destinations.
Delta will add its code to KAL-operated flights between Seoul and Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington-Dulles, as well as on flights beyond Seoul to Osaka and Tokyo in Japan.
The US carrier will also codeshare on KAL domestic flights between Seoul and Busan (formerly Pusan), while from 21 May it will add its code to KAL flights between Seoul and Atlanta.
The new revenue sources are seen as important for KAL, which has been suffering financially since well before the September terrorist attacks in the USA.
Source: Flight International
