By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter

Korean Air's in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems have achieved global recognition at a recent award ceremony.

The national flag carrier was selected among the top five airlines around the world in three categories at the Avion Awards given by the World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) in an event at the Metro Toronto Convention Center in Canada last Monday.

It ranked third in the Best Achievement in IFE category and the Best in Region category's Asia Pacific region. The carrier also came in fifth for the Best Overall IFE category.

The WAEA represents some 100 airlines worldwide and 250 companies providing in-flight entertainment programs. The Avion Award, often called the ``Oscar in the IFE Field,'' is given annually to airlines with the highest quality entertainment systems.

From this year, the award is jointly evaluated with the British research company Skytrax, and the number of prize categories has seen significantly cut from 12 to four _ Best in Region, Best Overall IFE, Best Achievement in IFE and Best in Technical Achievement.

Among the 100-plus member airlines, five were selected in each category in a preliminary contest, and among them three were selected as final winners.

Korean Air was selected in the first five in three categories, and included in the final three in two categories _ in the Best Achievement in IFE category, it followed Emirates and Singapore Airlines; and in the Best in Region, it came in next to Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific Airways. In the Best Overall IFE, it ranked fifth.



No airline was picked for Best in Technical Achievement category.

Korean Air's win was a result of its investment in facilities, such as audio and video on demand (AVOD) equipment on all seats, and improvement of in-flight services such as the publication of ``Beyond,'' a magazine introducing AVOD programs and other in-flight entertainment contents, said Heather Cho, managing vice president of in-flight services and catering.

``I think Korean Air was highly evaluated for providing world-class in-flight entertainment services in both hardware and software through active investment. We'll not be satisfied with the result but will keep reforming services to become a quality airline,'' Cho said.

Korean Air has installed AVOD systems on all seats on 22 long-range flights since 2005 by purchasing new planes or remodeling old ones. It also publishes Beyond to provide passengers with detailed information of its varied in-flight entertainment programs.


rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr