Korean Air passengers who fail to inform the airline that they wish to cancel their flights, will get hit with “no–show” penalty fees – a move that the airline states is being made in order to minimise seat wastage.

The no-show fees will be applied to tickets purchased from October 1, and be levied on passengers who either do not cancel their reservation prior to the scheduled time of departure, or do not board their flight after checking in.

The fees charged are based on the distance travelled. Passengers who fail to turn up for flights to/from North America, Latin America, Europe and Oceania will be charged US$120, while those flying to/from Southeast and Southwest Asia will be charged US$70. For short-haul international flights to/from Japan and China, the penalty is US$50.

Meanwhile, the no-show fee for domestic flights will remain at 8,000 won (US$7). Korean Air first started charging no-show fees for its domestic flights back in 2008, but is only expanding this now to its international services.

The revised policy puts Korean Air in line with a number of international carriers, including Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Japan Airlines – all of which have introduced no-show fees.

For more information, visit koreanair.com

Clement Huang