Korean Air

Korean Air (Korean Air Lines before 1984) is the largest airline and flag carrier of South Korea based on fleet size, international destinations and international flights. The airline's global headquarters is located in Seoul, South Korea. The present-day Korean Air was established on March 1, 1969, after the Hanjin Group acquired government-owned Korean Air Lines, which had operated since June 1962. Even though Korean Air is owned by Hanjin Group, KAL is controlled by majority of Hanjin KAL Corporation. The owner family of Hanjin Group is still the airline's largest and controlling, shareholder; Cho Won-tae (Walter Cho), its current chairman and CEO, is the third generation of the family to lead the airline. Hanjin KAL holds 29.27% of Korean Air shares. Korean Air is a founding member of the airline alliance SkyTeam and SkyTeam Cargo. Korean Air's international passenger division and related subsidiary cargo division together serve 126 cities in 44 countries, while its domestic division serves 13 destinations. It is among the top 20 airlines in the world in terms of passengers carried and is also one of the top-ranked international cargo airlines. Incheon International Airport Terminal 2 serves as Korean Air's international hub. Korean Air also maintains a satellite headquarters campus at Incheon. The majority of Korean Air's pilots, ground staff, and flight attendants are based in Seoul.