For the fourth year in a row, North Korea’s Air Koryo has claimed the dubious honor of being ranked the worst carrier in the world.

But Air Koryo may not be that bad, according to online reviews.

The ranking, based on 13.25 million survey questionnaires compiled by Skytrax, an air-transport research company based in Britain, named Emirates as the world’s best.

The Dubai-based airline, rated four stars on a one- to five-star rating system, wowed passengers with amenities like onboard showers, lounges, gourmet food and 2,500 channels of movies and television.


Air Koryo was the only one-star rated carrier, which Skytrax said “represents a poor quality of product delivered across the assessment sectors, combining with low and/or inconsistent standards of front-line staff service.”

But to be fair to Air Koryo, several of the 46 reviews posted on the Skytrax website described the carrier as adequate, although not spectacular.

Among the features that raised concerns among reviewers was the onboard meal of hamburgers made of a “mystery meat,” safety demonstrations that often were skipped, entertainment that consisted of propaganda films played in a loop and overhead luggage racks with no doors to keep bags from falling down on fliers during turbulence.

hugo.martin@latimes.com


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