Korean Air held a ceremony on the 4th (local time) to commemorate the 50th anniversary of its passenger route to Paris, France, it announced on the 5th. More than 100 guests attended the event held at the Korean Cultural Center in Paris. Paris is the first European city where Korean Air started service.

On April 4 (local time) in Paris, France, at the event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the launch of Korean Air passenger services, (from left to right) Shim Hyun-jun, the head of Korean Air's France branch, Kim Byung-ji, the manager of Korean Air passenger sales, Lee Il-yeol, the head of the Korean Cultural Center in France, Choi Jeong-ho, the vice president of Korean Air’s sales division, Moon Seung-hyun, the Korean Ambassador to France, and Jang Seong-sik, the head of European operations at Korean Air, are taking a photo. /Courtesy of Korean Air

On the 2nd, Korean Air conducted the 50th anniversary event for passengers on flight KE902 departing from Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris and presented a ticket to Incheon to the 50th passenger of the flight. All passengers received a new corporate identity souvenir from Korean Air.

Korean Air established ties with France in the early 1970s by purchasing the first passenger aircraft produced by Airbus. At that time, Korean Air was the first airline outside Europe to purchase an aircraft from the new aircraft manufacturer Airbus. This led to the confirmation of codeshare cargo routes with the French carrier Air France, and the first passenger plane carrying 215 passengers took off on March 14, 1975.

On the afternoon of the 2nd (local time), Korean Air held a 50th anniversary event for passenger services at Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris for the passengers of flight KE902. Cyril Jerule, the 50th passenger to check in (fourth from the left), receives gifts including a ticket to Incheon and is taking a commemorative photo with Korean Air officials. /Courtesy of Korean Air

There are also evaluations that Korean Air played a role as a cultural ambassador between Korea and Europe. Korean Air sponsors the Korean language audio guide service at the Louvre and Orsay museums. In 2008, it received a letter of appreciation from the Minister of Culture and Sports for persuading the Louvre to implement the Korean language audio guide service.

A representative from Korean Air said, "After the merger with Asiana Airlines, we will discover new routes to meet the diverse needs of passengers and provide even higher quality service through schedule refinement and more."