How Korean Air Went From Aviation's Biggest Disgrace To Asia's Most Dominant Airline! episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 2, 2026 · 16 MIN

How Korean Air Went From Aviation's Biggest Disgrace To Asia's Most Dominant Airline!

from ExPlaned · host ExPlaned

Korean Air was once banned by the Pentagon, dropped by Delta, and losing aircraft at 17 times the rate of United Airlines. Twenty years later, it controls 81% of all US-South Korea routes and commands 73% of South Korea's international aviation market. This is how Korean Air's Chairman Walter Cho pulled off one of the most complex airline mergers in aviation history across 14 regulatory authorities, 4 years, and a $1.5 trillion gamble.CORECTION; Walter Cho is not a Harvard graduate. He received his BA from Inha University in Korea and his MBA from the University of Southern California. I apologise for this factual mistake!

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jun 2, 2026

Embed this episode

NOW PLAYING

How Korean Air Went From Aviation's Biggest Disgrace To Asia's Most Dominant Airline!

0:00 16:49

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of ExPlaned?

This episode is 16 minutes long.

When was this ExPlaned episode published?

This episode was published on June 2, 2026.

Can I download this ExPlaned episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!