Air Koryo

I was flying from Beijing to Pyongyang with a Tupolev 204-300. The aircraft was in an excellent state and the service was very friendly. The flight departed and arrived in time.

Beijing to Sunan International an experience to fly their IL-62 it was back in time. Food was good and service efficient. As North Koreans travel with lots and lots of baggage it was placed all over the plane. Plane on time in Sunan but waited more than 1 hour for our baggage.

✅ Verified Review | Pyongyang to Beijing with Air Koryo. The departure and arrival were punctual, staff smiling and friendly, the aircraft, including toilets, was clean and there were magazines and newspapers at the entrance. The food was a chicken burger but the drink selection was rather limited, either water or one type of soft drink. It is maybe not the most luxurious airline but the service for a short-haul flight is better than European or American airlines I have used for the same distance.

A timewarp experience to say the least my flight from Beijing to Pyongyang was without hitch although you'd be hard pressed to find a team less interested in not only the well being but the safety of the passengers. For example when the purser was meant to make the safety announcement she looked around and saw a flight full of foreigners. As a result she actually shrugged rolled her eyes and sat right back down instead of briefing us. That it was a 30 year old Tupolev made that nagging feeling of 'I should probably listen to the safety announcement in case I jinx the flight' all the more pressing. That said the flight was a dream. The plane felt so heavy we barely realised we were touching down. The food was passable but the experience was unforgettable. Our seats tilted forwards rather than backwards. But for a 2 hour flight the sense of wonder far outweighs any actual discomfort. The stewardesses seemed more interested in reapplying thick strata of foundation and redoing their 60s overdone hairstyles than actually serving their passengers but the sight was certainly more entertaining than the sad slightly desperate propaganda movies played throughout the flight. My Air Koryo flight was a tremendous start to my trip.

Flew a total 8 sectors between Beijing Pyongyang Chongjin and Sondok onboard IL-62 IL-18 Tu-134 and Tu-204. Flights were all on time. Good English spoken onboard and a full meal service on 1.5 hours between Beijing to Pyongyang. All baggage delivered promptly with no delays. Planes are maintained well.

Beijing to Pyongyang return on an Il-62 in economy. On the outbound sector the most beautiful cabin crew I have ever seen (all female). The meal although huge was of the horrible processed type. 70s style interior with sick bag stating "for your refuses" hmm. Amusing to see the crew hanging onto the galley for dear life on take off and landing! On the return due to the amount of passengers an additional service was laid on (Tu-154) leaving half an hour later. Overall one of the more interesting short haul sectors to fly.

PEK-FNJ-PEK 12-19 August 2014. Departed and arrived on time on both flights good FAs and great seats. Interesting airplane (TU204) and very likely the first and last time I fly a Russian built plane (not a lot operated where I spend most of my time). Flight to North-hard and bumpy landing. Back to Beijing was good - not so many turns and much smoother. Once we arrived in Pyongyang immigration took 10 mins and bags were delivered immediately. I'm glad it all went well.

Koyro PEK-FNJ Ilyushin IL-62. The inflight product was great however their safety standards are in need of international review - no cabin crew jump seats are provided - they hang on to assist handles in the galley curtains are drawn for take-off and landing exits blocked with service carts no cabin baggage storage checks and the safety demo is a seat belt only. Also pax are assigned exits to use in an emergency depending on where they are seated - and I'm sure the FA's will want to see your boarding pass as you jump down the canvas apron slide!

I make quite regular trips from Beijing Capital to Pyongyang Sunan, and I cannot reconcile with your latest reviews here!? I belief that safety requires staff to be able to communicate in the international English language, and that is still very poor for Air Koryo. None of us can truly speak for their maintenance, but from local standards in other industry this will be a continued concern for some persons. The food is best left alone which I now do - Air Koryo supply outbound and inbound flights from Pyongyang, and cuisine standards there are certainly not the best. I think many my fellow "foreign" travellers are more interested in flying Tupolev airplanes or checking if N Korea is really people say - best of luck with that. But this is not airline you would choose if there were more operators to choose. Guess that's not going to change in the near times!

Beijing to Pyongyang on economy - the airplane was an Ilyushin 62 quite roomy business class is separated from economy via the galley which one walks through to get to the back of the plane. Service was excellent the food was ample and more than enough for a one hour flight; fruit a green curry with rice fine-tasting North Korean beer. Air Koryo compares to my mind more than favorably with other short haul sector airlines. I can definitely recommend Air Koryo.