Kudos to KAL

From New York City’s JFK Airport, my wife, Dorothy, and I headed for Phnom Penh, Cambodia, with Korean Airlines (KAL) on April 15, 2011. Our flight included a stop in Seoul with only one hour to make our connection. Unfortunately, we were delayed two hours taking off from JFK due to “technical problems.”

During the 14-hour flight to Seoul, the flight attendant assured us several times that we need not worry. When we arrived in Seoul, we found that we were two of 139 passengers who had missed their connections due to the delay.

As we departed the plane, on the jetway we each were handed an envelope with a 50-dollar gift certificate good for a future flight on KAL. In the terminal, there was a table set up where we turned in our boarding passes for the missed connecting flight and were given new ones for the flight the next day to Phnom Penn (the earliest one available).

We were told where to catch the bus to take us to a 4-star hotel in Inchon and were given vouchers for dinner, breakfast and lunch. The next day, KAL arranged for us to be bused back to the airport for our flight.

KAL efficiently handled this problem the way all airlines should but seldom do. I have been left stranded by other airlines and had to find my own replacement flights and make my own hotel arrangements. Kudos to KAL!

IRWIN VOGEL
Somerset, NJ