Korean Air Selected as 'Best Operator of A220 Aircraft'

Achieved Record High On-Time Flight Rate of 99.63%

Chairman Cho Won-tae of Korean Air (right) and Guillaume Faury, CEO of Airbus (left), are posing for a commemorative photo after Korean Air received the 'Airbus A220 Best Operator 2021' award at the IATA Annual General Meeting held in Boston, USA, on the 4th (local time).

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Korean Air has been selected as the best operational airline for Airbus's A220 aircraft, the first among airlines worldwide.

Korean Air announced on the 4th (local time) at the IATA Annual General Meeting held in Boston, USA, hosted by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), that it received the 'Best Operational Excellence for Airbus A220 Aircraft 2021' award.

Airbus comprehensively evaluates operational on-time performance based on flight hours and frequency, selecting and announcing the best operational airline for each of its aircraft models every two years. This is the first time the best operational airline has been selected for the A220 model.

Korean Air's A220 model recorded the highest on-time performance rate of 99.63% among airlines worldwide from August last year to July this year. The global average on-time performance rate for the A220 aircraft is about 99%.

On-time performance is a representative international indicator verifying an airline's aircraft operational capability. It is calculated as the percentage of flights departing within 15 minutes of the scheduled departure time without delays or cancellations due to maintenance defects, divided by the total number of flights.

An on-time performance rate of 99.63% means that out of 1,000 flights, only 3.7 flights were delayed or canceled due to maintenance defects. A high on-time performance rate indicates fewer delays and cancellations caused by maintenance issues, reflecting the airline's proactive maintenance, safety management, and consequently, higher passenger service and safety levels.

The A220 aircraft is currently operated by 11 airlines with 174 units in service, and Korean Air has operated a total of 10 aircraft since first introducing the A220 in 2017.