Air Koryo

Short flight of about an hour from Beinjing to Pyongyang you get a comfortable seat and every manner of food and drink - food is not 5 star but it's not bad and more than you can eat. There's reading material (P'yang times) and flight attendants are reasonably helpful and polite. Aircraft are old Soviet ones but there is ample room. The lavs are impeccable.

I have travelled on Air Koryo frequently for almost seven years mainly between Beijing-Pyongyang and occasionally Shenyang-Pyongyang. Flights are usually on IL-62 sometimes on TU-154 or TU-134. On one occasion on an IL-18 from Vladivostok to Pyongyang. During the 'SARS period' in 2003 when flights to China were suspended Air Koryo arranged several flights to Bangkok. The IL-62 has a reputation of being a very safe aircraft. Air Koryo pilots are most capable especially in Spring when high winds and duststorms from China are experienced. Once our flight to Beijing was unable to land due to strong winds and diverted to Tianjin for 2 hours. Air Koryo is generally punctual even departing Pyongyang (Sunan Airport) on time in snowy conditions. The flight attendants are charming but loose luggage in overhead racks (not closed bins) is of some concern to passengers also the quantities of additional hand baggage carried on board and stacked up loosely in the rear of the aircraft. The meals referred to by other persons are only served on the inbound flights to Pyongyang. Outbound flights serve hamburgers and soft drinks and beer; occasionally coffee or tea. There have been comments about the lack of safety announcements. Indeed the PA system is hardly audible. Only once do I recall was there a demonstration of the use of life-jackets as we flew over water from Vladivostok to Pyongyang. This flight takes place at night which is a little scary ! Seating in the TU-134 is very cramped (for tall people) and most uncomfortable. Flights on the TU-134 have been my least pleasant experiences. Air Koryo has been unspectacular but generally reliable with 3 outbound flights weekly (currently) to Beijing 2 to Shenyang and 1 to Vladivostok. Am smiling at the prospect of direct flights to Yanji (China) also the proposal to initiate a Frequent Flyer programme !

PYO-AMS-JFK. I was lucky enough to be on this exeptional flight. It was definitively not a routine flight but a special flight with respect to the deputy-minister foreign affairs of DPRK visiting the States. Safety procedures were good this once as well as the inflight meal services. There's even rumour of a Koryo frequent flyer program to be started shortly (which is interesting for me as a frequent visitor of DPRK).

Not as lucky as the last writer here. Travelled on an ancient Ilyushin aircraft and whilst happy to reach my destination this is not an airline I would use again (no choice this time on my schedule to Pyongyang). This plane was not maintained well from the surface appearance in the cabin and many seat mechanisms also were broken. Cabin staff had a fixed smile on boarding and whilst they gave out a meal tray they could not speak or understand English and appeared to rather poorly trained. Food was as expected I guess but the quality was well below all Asian airlines I have ever flown and think it was the cheapest meal ever sampled on a plane.

Flew Beijing to Pyongyang return on an Il-62. Some wonderfully nostalgic touches including dry ice and folk music in the cabin that gave the flight a cool '60s feel. Flight was full as the Thai football team were on board. I think one of the engines may have been inoperative but otherwise the flight was fine. The meal in fact was larger than most other airlines I have flown; the crew were courteous and extras such as confectionary and magazines were all provided. Safety procedures common on other carriers were obviously not adhered to such as crew walking around collecting trays as we came in land! Along the runway in Pyongyang you can see the shells of other planes which have obviously been cannibalised to ensure that at least one stays on the air. All in all I would recommend Koryo to anyone who doesn't necessarily regard safety as a priority in their air travel.

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.