Korean Air has appointed Yoonseok Chung, department head of headquarters in Korea as the new manager of the airline’s U.S. Western region office.
Chung visited the Korea Daily on March 26. He looks forward to providing customer satisfaction services by strengthening communication before and after the airline merger with Asiana Airlines.
Chung joined Korean Air in 2003 and has worked in the LA area as a dispatcher for the LA Passenger Branch during 2012-2013 and as a sales manager for the passenger team at the headquarters in the Americas from 2016 to 2020. He has been the head of the passenger price and revenue management for the Americas route at the Korean headquarters until his new appointment.
Commenting on his appointment at a pivotal time when the merger of Korean Air and Asiana Airlines is only left with pending approval from the U.S. government, Chung said, “We are aiming to finalize the merger process by the end of the year. I believe that after the merger, they will keep the two brands for one to two years, and then the integration will be led by the headquarters. The overseas regional headquarters has a role in bringing out organic integration between organizations, so we will do our best to play our part.”
Regarding the changes in the routes in the U.S. after the merger, he said, “In the case of the LA route, Korean Air and Asiana Airlines operate twice daily, so after the merger, it will be operated four times daily. The schedule may be adjusted to avoid overlapping, but the number of flights will be maintained,” he said.
“We are working hard to ensure that consumer convenience is not compromised when using the combined miles. Also, there will be no artificial price increase adjustments because the supply of tickets will remain unchanged.”
Commenting on the increase in demand since the pandemic, Chung said, “We currently operate 13 routes in North America, and flights have recovered in Los Angeles, where our A380s operate twice daily round-trip flights. At the headquarters level, we are trying to increase supply on some routes such as Las Vegas.”
Chung added, “I have high expectations but also feel a sort of pressure because LA is like my second home. Korean Air is what it is today because of the Korean American customers. During my four-year term as the manager of the region office, I look forward to contributing to the company and the community through strengthening internal and external communication based on my career experience in LA and to providing the best customer service.”
The previous branch manager, Jongwoo Seo, will return to the headquarters.
BY NAKI PARK, HOONSIK WOO [park.naki@koreadaily.com]
