• Korean Air Boeing 787
    Korean Air
    IATA/ICAO Code:
    KE/KAL
    Airline Type:
    Full Service Carrier
    Hub(s):
    Incheon International Airport
    Year Founded:
    1969
    Alliance:
    SkyTeam
    CEO:
    Walter Cho
    Country:
    South Korea

Korean Air resumed flights to Las Vegas on the weekend - and with Las Vegas now back on the Korean Air network map, the airline is flying to all the US destinations it served before the pandemic. Las Vegas joins Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, Washington, New York, and Boston as Korean Air US ports.

Korean Air is back flying to Las Vegas three times a week

On Sunday, July 10, Korean Air restarted its flights to Las Vegas after a two-year break. Korean Air flight KE005 now departs Seoul (ICN) at 14:10 every Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday. After 12 hours in the air, the jet touches down at 10:10 on the same calendar day.

Having spent two hours at the gate, Korean Air turns its plane around to operate KE006 back to Seoul on the same day. KE006 pushes back from Las Vegas Harry Reid International (LAS) at 12:10 to head home, landing in Seoul at 17:40 the next calendar day.

Alas, one of Korean Air's A380s won't be thundering into Las Vegas - those big planes are presently exclusively flying to New York (JFK). Instead, it's the Airbus A330-200 heading to Las Vegas. While it's not a bad plane, it's not the A380. Korean Air's A330-200s seat 218 passengers in two cabin classes, including 188 passengers in the main cabin in a 2-4-2 seat layout. Up the front, 30 passengers share the 2-2-2 business class cabin.

"Korean Air is very pleased to reinstate our flights from Las Vegas," says Korean Air's Jin Ho Lee. "We launched our Las Vegas service more than 15 years ago, and we're the only Asian airline serving this dynamic market. Throughout the years, Las Vegas has been a great partner of Korean Air, and we look forward to continuing our shared successes."

Korean Air US Route Network
Korean Air's US Network. Image: gcmap.com

International services return to Las Vegas

"The nonstop route between LAS and Incheon International Airport was the largest outstanding piece of Las Vegas's international air service recovery," said Chris Jones, Harry Reid International Airport's Chief Marketing Officer. Just like the old days, business is booming again at Las Vegas Airport. The airport's recently released May 2022 traffic numbers reveal nearly 4.6 million travelers moved through LAS that month. Over 90% of those passengers were flying domestic services, but international carriers are steadily ramping up flights into the US gambling mecca.

In May, 15 foreign airlines flew into Las Vegas. WestJet put 60,000 passengers in and out through Las Vegas that month, more than 15,000 more than the second place-getter, Air Canada. In May 2021, only five airlines offered international flights in and out of LAS. A few international airlines remain absent from Las Vegas, but most are back.

Kate Wik, Chief Marketing Officer for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, said Korean Air is the first airline to restore nonstop flights between Las Vegas and Asia. "Korean Air has been an important partner over the years, and its service from Seoul has been instrumental in growing our visitation numbers from South Korea," the tourism boss said. "We look forward to this route returning and once again providing visitors from South Korea and Southeastern Asia with world-class experiences that can only be found in Vegas."