Asiana Airlines

Asiana Airlines
아시아나항공
Asiana Hanggong
IATA
OZ		 ICAO
AAR		 Callsign
ASIANA
Founded 17 February 1988
Hubs
Focus cities
Frequent-flyer program Asiana Club
Airport lounge Asiana Lounge
Alliance Star Alliance
Subsidiaries
Fleet size 85
Destinations 108
Company slogan 아름다운 사람들 (Korean)
Parent company Kumho Asiana Group
Headquarters Osoe-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Key people
  • Kim Soo-Cheon (김수천) (President & CEO)
Revenue Increase KRW\ 5,638.1 billion (2012)[1]
Employees 10,183 (2015)
Website www.flyasiana.com
Asiana Airlines
Hangul 아시아나항공
Hanja 아시아나航空
Revised Romanization Asiana Hanggong
McCune–Reischauer Asiana Hanggong
Asiana Airlines logo, 1988–2006

Asiana Airlines Inc. (Hangul: 아시아나 항공; RR: Asiana Hanggong; KRX: 020560; formerly Seoul Airlines) is one of South Korea's two major airlines, along with Korean Air. Asiana has its headquarters in Asiana Town building in Seoul.[2] The airline has its domestic hub at Gimpo International Airport and its international hub at Incheon International Airport (70 kilometres (43 mi) from central Seoul). As a member of Star Alliance, it operates 14 domestic and 90 international passenger routes, and 27 cargo routes throughout Asia, Europe, North America, and Oceania.[3] As of December 2014, the company employs 10,183 people. The majority of Asiana's pilots, ground staff, and flight attendants are based in Seoul. Asiana Airlines is the largest shareholder in Air Busan, a low-cost regional carrier joint venture with Busan Metropolitan City. Asiana is also currently an official sponsor of the South Korea national football team and The Presidents Cup 2015.

History

Founding

Korean Air (associated with the Hanjin Group), which was privatized in 1969, had a monopoly on the South Korean airline industry until the establishment of Asiana in 1988.[4] Asiana's formation did not come about as a policy initiative favoring liberalized market conditions but rather because of pressure from other chaebols and interests who wanted to compete.[5] It was formed by the Kumho Asiana Group (formerly Kumho Group) and was originally known as Seoul Air International. Asiana was established on 17 February 1988 and started operations in December 1988 with flights to Busan. As of 2007 the airline was owned by private investors (30.53%), Kumho Industrial (29.51%), Kumho Petrochemical (15.05%), foreign investors (11.9%), Korea Development Bank (7.18%), and others (5.83%).[6]

Beginning regular service

Asiana began operations in December 1988 using Boeing 737 Classic with flights to Busan and Gwangju. In 1989, Asiana began regular services to Jeju City, Gwangju, and Daegu and later the same year, Asiana began international chartered flights to Sendai in Japan. In 1990, Asiana began its first scheduled international service to Tokyo, Nagoya, Sendai, and Fukuoka. In the same year, Asiana had 9 Boeing 747-400s, 10 Boeing 767–300s and 8 Boeing 737–400s. In early 1991, Asiana began services to Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taipei. Transpacific flights to Los Angeles began in December 1991 with a Boeing 747-400Combi. Services to Vienna, Brussels, and Honolulu began in the mid 1990s. In 1993, Asiana began services to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.

Expansion as global carrier and joining Star Alliance

Asiana Airlines has rapidly expanded since its establishment in 1988 to become a mid-sized, global carrier with a current fleet of 83 aircraft. In December 1998, the airline operated the presidential airplane for the first time.[7] The Airline was listed in KOSDAQ In December 1999. On 28 January 2003, the airline became a full Star Alliance member, expanding its worldwide network and global brand. In 2004, the airline added the Airbus A330 and the Boeing 777-200ER to its fleet, and expanded its routes into mainland China. Currently it provides international services to 71 cities in 23 countries on 91 routes, and domestic services to 12 cities on 14 routes. It also provides international cargo services to 29 cities in 14 countries on 28 routes by Asiana Cargo, the airline's freight division. In 2012, the airline had net sales of US$5.3 billion.[8]

New corporate identity

In February 2006, Asiana Airlines modernized its corporate identity for unification with those of other divisions of its parent company the Kumho Asiana Group. The names of the travel classes have changed from First Class, Business Class, and Economy Class to First, Business, and Travel classes respectively, and the colors of the travel classes have changed to yellow, blue and red for First, Business, and Travel Class, respectively. New uniforms were also created for the crew.[9]

Future developments

Since the 2000s, Asiana has focused on long-haul services and fleet modernization. As of December 2013, Asiana operates total 90 (45 round-trip) transpacific passenger flights per week. The airline also plans to increase the size of its fleet from current 83 to 85, with the delivery of the Airbus A380 in May 2014. For safety improvement, further focus will also be made on improving communications between crews.[10]

Notable achievements

Asiana began to focus on being an environmentally friendly company in the mid-90s and has put its efforts ever since in this regard, such as completely banning in-flight smoking and cigarette sales in 1995.[11] The company was awarded first in class certification by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for meeting criteria ISO 14001 in 1996.[11][12] In 2001, Asiana Airlines was recognized for being the "first environmentally friendly company within the service industry" by the Ministry of Environment.[11] Some of Asiana's other environmentally-minded programs include an emissions measurement and reduction system, reducing pollution from ground facilities and partnering with the Rainforest Alliance for coffee served on board.[11]

On 17 February 2009, Air Transport World (ATW) awarded Asiana the "Airline of the Year" award, which is considered to be one of the most honorable awards in the airline industry.[13] and later in May 2010, Asiana Airlines was named the best airline in the world by Skytrax at the 2010 World Airline Awards.[14] Asiana came in second place behind Qatar Airways in 2011 and 2012.

Corporate affairs

An Asiana Cargo Boeing 747–400BDSF

The airline has its headquarters in Asiana Town (아시아나타운) in Osoe-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul.[2] The airline's head office moved from Hoehyeon-dong, Jung District to Asiana Town in Osoe-dong on 1 April 1998.[15]

Destinations

Further information: Asiana Airlines destinations

Asiana Airlines serves destinations on four continents with a well-developed Asian network that includes important cities in the People's Republic of China, Japan, Southeast Asia and Central Asia. The airline serves a number of gateway cities in North America and Europe while retaining a limited coverage of Oceania. It is the first airline that has developed regular passenger routes between Seoul and Tashkent, Almaty, Siem Reap, Phnom Penh and Koror. Besides regular routes, Asiana also has served a number of seasonal charter routes from Seoul to some tourist attractions such as Brunei, Nha Trang, Qiqihar and Zhangjiajie. Asiana Cargo, the airline's only cargo subsidiary, also has a wide network, especially in Europe and the United States, and currently serves cities that Asiana does not offer regular passenger services to and from. Some of these cities in Europe, include Brussels, Milan, Oslo, and Vienna. Some of these cities in the United States, include Atlanta, Dallas, Miami, and Portland.

In July 2013, Asiana began its regular passenger service to Jakarta and Denpasar, Indonesia. Currently, there are also plans to launch a new passenger route between Seoul and Wuxi.[16] While trying to obtain traffic rights for Korea-Mongolia routes, the airline is also considering more investment in long-haul services, including launching a direct charter route to Barcelona by May 2014.

Codeshare agreements

In addition to Star Alliance members, Asiana Airlines now also have new codeshare agreements with the following airlines, as of April 2014:[17]

Fleet

An Asiana Cargo Boeing 747-400F taxiing at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Netherlands. (2009)
An Asiana Boeing 777-200ER in post-2006 colours departs from Sydney Airport in Australia
An Asiana Boeing 767–300 in the Star Alliance livery, lands at Seoul-Incheon International Airport, South Korea. (2009)
An Asiana Airbus A320 taxiing at Matsuyama Airport, Japan. (2009)

As of December 2014, Asiana Airlines' fleet consists of the following aircraft:[21][22][23]

Asiana Airlines fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Options Passenger Notes
P J Y Total
Airbus A320-200 9 — — 0 0
0		 156
162		 156
162
Airbus A321-100 2 — — 0 0
0		 200 200
Airbus A321-200 23 2 — 0 12
12
0
0		 159
165
191
195		 171
177
191
195
Airbus A321neo — 25 — TBA [24]
Airbus A330-300 15 — — 0 30 260
245		 290
275
Airbus A350-800 — 8 10 TBA Original orders included 10 of each variations (−800, −900, −1000).
Deliveries in 2016.[25]
Airbus A350-900 — 12 10 TBA
Airbus A350-1000 — 10 10 TBA

Airbus A380-800

 2 4 — 12 66 417 495
Boeing 747-400 2 — — 10 45 304 359
Boeing 747-400M 2 — — 10 24 230 264
Boeing 767–300 7 — — 0 15
0		 235
270		 250
270		 250 Seats - PTV system on every Business Cabin.
Boeing 777-200ER 12 — — 8
8
0
0
0
0		 24
28
24
22
28
28		 214
226
271
274
271
272		 246
262
295
296
299
300		 PTV System on aircraft No.1 to 3
AVOD system on aircraft No.4 to 12


First Class Cabin from aircraft no.10

Asiana Cargo fleet
Boeing 747-400F 4 — —
N/A
Boeing 747-400BDSF 6 — —
N/A
Boeing 767-300ERF 1 — —
N/A
Total 85 61 30

Retired fleet

The company has previously operated the following aircraft:

In-flight services[28]

Asiana Airlines offers five classes of services – First Suite class, First class, Business Smartium class, Business class and Travel (economy) class. Seat configurations and in-flight entertainment systems vary by the type of the aircraft and its operating routes, although Asiana is likely to simplify those with upcoming deliveries of its new orders from Airbus.

First Suite class and First class are mainly offered in between Seoul and Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago and Frankfurt.[29] Passengers in these classes are offered pajamas, souvenirs and "amenity kits" containing items such as skin cream, toothpaste, eye shades and earplugs. A passenger can pre-order in-flight meals 48 hours prior to departure. First class seats are equipped with personal AVOD systems.

Besides those routes, most of Asiana's international flights offer two type of classes – business smartium class or business class as the highest class, and travel class, without first class. Some of the short-length international flights and charter flights are operated by mono-class basis, as well as all of the airline's domestic flights. Every business "smartium" class seat is equipped with video on demand. Other business-class seats will be upgraded to video on demand by 2014. Apart from some routes operated by 767 and A321-100 aircraft, most of Asiana's Travel class seats also have television or video systems. In-flight entertainment systems are not offered on domestic routes, which consist of flights of an hour or less.

Asiana offers two in-flight magazines, 'Asiana' (a travel magazine) and 'Asiana Entertainment', which are available to all passengers.

Frequent flyer program

Asiana Club is Asiana Airline's frequent flyer program, formerly Asiana Bonus Club. Asiana Club has five tiers: Silver, Gold, Diamond, Diamond Plus and Platinum.[30] To acquire or maintain each tier, members are required to accrue 0, 20000, 40000, 100000 miles in two calendar years from the 'reference date'. Status miles are based on 'On-board mileage', which includes miles accumulated by traveling with Asiana Airlines or Star Alliance airlines. Also, members can accrue miles by flying 'partner airlines' such as Qatar Airlines. Miles accumulated in the program entitle members to bonus tickets, class upgrades and other products and services such as dining at Outback Steakhouse.[31]

In addition, individuals who accumulate 500,000 miles earned on Asiana receive lifetime Asiana Diamond Plus status. Individuals who accumulate 1,000,000 miles earned on Asiana receive lifetime Asiana Club Platinum status.

Partners

Asiana Club Miles can be collected on all flights operated by Star Alliance member airlines, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways.[32]

Marketing

Asiana has endorsement deals with the following:

Incidents and accidents

NTSB investigators looking at the fuselage of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 after it crash-landed in San Francisco (July 2013)

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Asiana Airlines Sustainability Report 2012" (PDF). Asiana Airlines.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Home." Asiana Airlines. Retrieved 13 September 2010. "Address : Asiana Town, P.O.Box 98 47 Osoe-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, Korea." Address in Korean: "주소 서울특별시 강서구 오쇠동 47번지 아시아나 타운." Map in Korean, Direct image link to map
  3. ↑ "For foreigners residing in Korea." Asiana Airlines. Retrieved 28 December 2010.
  4. ↑ Bamber, Greg J. et al. (2009). Up In the Air: how airlines can improve their performance by engaging their employees. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press. pp. 51–52. ISBN 978-0-8014-4747-1. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  5. ↑ Kim, Jongseok (1997). Findlay, Christopher and Sien Chia, Karmjit Singh, ed. Asia Pacific Air Transport: Challenges and Policy Reforms. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. pp. 74–104. ISBN 978-981-230004-1. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  6. ↑ "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 27 March 2007. p. 78.
  7. ↑ 1999~1994 | 연혁 | 소개 및 연혁 | 회사소개 | 아시아나항공. Flyasiana.com. Retrieved on 2013-07-12.
  8. ↑ Asiana Airlines Sustainability Report 2012
  9. ↑ Asiana Airlines new colours
  10. ↑ Gale, Alastair. "Why Asiana Has a PR Problem." The Wall Street Journal. 10 July 2013.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 BCSD Korea (15 January 2009). "Asiana Airlines: Environmentally friendly management and sustainability, Case Study (2009)" (PDF). http://www.wbcsd.ch/plugins/DocSearch/details.asp?MenuId=ODY&ClickMenu=RightMenu&doOpen=1&type=DocDet&ObjectId=MzMwNjE''. Geneva: World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  12. ↑ ISO 14000 essentials
  13. ↑ ATW's 2009 Airline of the Year
  14. ↑ "Asiana Airlines named Airline of the Year 2010 at the 2010 World Airline Awards– known as the Passenger's Choice awards" (Press release). SkyTrax. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
  15. ↑ "History." Asiana Cargo. Retrieved on 19 July 2013.
  16. ↑ "Asiana to open Incheon-Wuxi route as early as next year". The Korea Times. 4 September 2012.
  17. ↑ "Asiana Airlines Codeshares Network". Asiana Airlines.
  18. ↑ "Asiana Airlines signs code-sharing deal with Air Macau". Globaltimes.cn. 14 November 2012. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  19. ↑ "Asiana adds Jinan service and Srilankan codeshare". Flightglobal.com. 6 May 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  20. ↑ "New Codeshare with Sri Lankan Airlines". flyasiana.com. 12 May 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  21. ↑ Asiana Airlines – Fleets Asiana Airlines
  22. ↑ asms.casa.go.kr. Atis.casa.go.kr. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
  23. ↑ Asiana Airlines fleet ch-aviation.ch
  24. ↑ http://airsoc.com/articles/view/id/54dbfb4c3139448e4c8b4574/asiana-airlines-to-order-25-a321neo-aircraft
  25. ↑ "Airbus Orders, Deliveries, Operators – Worldwide". airbus.com. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  26. ↑ In-flight publications about its mileage programme.
  27. ↑ 운항시간표
  28. ↑ 퍼스트 클래스 | 클래스별 서비스 | 기내서비스 | 서비스 안내 | 아시아나항공. Flyasiana.com. Retrieved on 2013-07-12.
  29. ↑ 노선별 운항 기종 | 최첨단 기내시설 항공기 | 기내서비스 | 서비스 안내 | 아시아나항공. Flyasiana.com. Retrieved on 2013-07-12.
  30. ↑ http://us.flyasiana.com/C/en/clubMain.do?menuId=002000000000000
  31. ↑ "Asiana Club". Asiana Airlines. Retrieved 14 October 2009.
  32. ↑ "Asiana Airlines". Asiana Airlines. Retrieved 14 October 2009.
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 33.2 33.3 Manchester United’s Park Ji-Sung secures lucrative new contract – Sports Personal Endorsement news – Soccer. SportsPro Media. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
  34. ↑ Asiana Airlines sponsors Psy's agency. Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  35. ↑ Harro Ranter (26 July 1993). "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 737-5L9 HL7229 Mokpo". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 21 November 2008.
  36. ↑ Harro Ranter (11 November 1998). "ASN Aircraft accident Ilyushin 62M RA-86564 Anchorage International Airport, AK (ANC)". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 21 November 2008.
  37. ↑ Cha, Seonjin; Park, Kyunghee (28 July 2011). "Asiana Boeing 747 Freighter Crashes in South Korean Waters". Bloomberg (New York).
  38. ↑ San Francisco Boeing 777 crash 'not mechanical failure'
  39. ↑ Pritchard, Justin. "APNewsBreak: Asiana Airlines Penalized Over Crash". Associate Press. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  40. ↑ http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20150414-0
  41. ↑ Kaminsky-Morrow, David. "Asiana A320 involved in Hiroshima landing incident". Flight Global. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  42. ↑ Yeo, Ghim-Lay. "-Investigators sent to Asiana A320 runway excursion in Hiroshima". Flight Global. Retrieved 14 April 2015.

External links

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