Korean Air said on the 14th that it had won eight awards at the 2026 Magellan Awards, organized by U.S. travel industry publication Travel Weekly, including five gold awards and three silver awards.
The airline won gold in five categories across two areas: International Airline/Service in the Overall Airline category, and First Class, Airport Lounges and In-Flight Food and Beverage in the Airline Service Elements category.
Korean Air also received silver awards in three categories: Technology Solutions in the Overall Airline category, and Business Class and Eco-Friendly/Sustainable Airline in the Airline Service Elements category.
The Magellan Awards recognize companies and organizations across the global travel industry for excellence in areas such as branding, service, marketing and design. This year, 17 industry experts evaluated organizations’ business achievements from the previous year and selected winners across various categories.
Korean Air won gold for the second consecutive year in International Airline/Service, a category recognizing the airline’s global standing and service quality. Its first-class cabin and in-flight food and beverage services, revamped to reflect its new corporate identity, also received gold awards for the second year in a row.
The airline’s newly introduced airport lounges, starting with those at Incheon International Airport, also earned high marks. Korean Air has incorporated Korean aesthetics into its lounge designs, offering private services in its first-class lounge and a range of amenities in its Prestige lounges, including live cooking stations, cooking studios and a ramen library.
In the Technology Solutions category, Korean Air was recognized for its digital transformation efforts. The airline is adopting advanced technologies in areas including aircraft fuel management, predictive maintenance, global logistics, AI-powered intelligent customer service centers (AICC) and AI chatbots.
Korean Air is also implementing carbon-reduction measures, including expanding the use of fuel-efficient aircraft and optimizing flight speeds for fuel economy. These efforts helped reduce carbon emissions from aircraft operations and other activities by approximately 485,000 metric tons last year compared with the previous year.
The airline is also gradually introducing in-flight meal containers made from plant-based materials and promoting resource recycling through the upcycling of discarded materials. It continues to pursue social contribution initiatives in South Korea and overseas, including the creation of the “Korean Air Forest” in Mongolia.
A Korean Air representative said, “We will continue to strengthen customer-focused services and enhance our competitiveness as a global airline through technological innovation.”
Separately, Korean Air reported preliminary standalone revenue of 5.0199 trillion won and operating profit of 261.8 billion won for the second quarter of this year.
