Not a thing you get to see everyday, some very not-so-subtle propaganda right in the start.
Apparently Air Koryo now also has an “official” Facebook page.
By: KabirT - 10th February 2011 at 10:07
perspectives… Sandy. 😀
62M: I have found out, its not a big hassle for a DPRK visit from my location it seems. Its on my to do list definitely.
By: Bmused55 - 10th February 2011 at 10:03
the IL 62 which is to be the second most beautiful commercial liner ever built
It wants to be, being a copy of the most beautiful airliner ever built 😎
By: MSR777 - 10th February 2011 at 09:15
Do it if you can Kabir, I don’t think you’ll regret it, and a sense of humour will help. I don’t know how the flights would work from your location, but don’t let that put you off:)
By: KabirT - 9th February 2011 at 02:03
I want to plan a trip to PDRK sometime in the future just for the rides, the IL 62 which is to be the second most beautiful commercial liner ever built and as you mention, the TU 134A and the TU 204. 🙂
By: MSR777 - 8th February 2011 at 21:12
Well, Pyongyang/Sunan Airport was a little quiet on the morning that we arrived, in fact ours was the only inbound flight for that day, and this was confirmed by our guide, although we did see an Air Koryo Il76 land as we were boarding our coach to the city centre. The terminal was bright and clean, but it doesn’t seem to get a lot of use. The immigration staff were friendly enough and the process was quickly handled. I’ll stick to the aviation side of the trip, so as to stay on the right side of the mods;)
On departure day we obviously got a look at the departures hall. Again it was bright and cheerful, but the terminal is, by western’ standards, quite small. There was a duty free shop selling PDRK souvenirs and books as well as alcohol, some of it ‘home grown’. I treated myself to a copy of a book about the life of ‘The Great Leader’, (Kim Il Sung to his friends) and a DPRK flag!
As I said earlier, the Air Koryo aircraft look good and well maintained, even the older craft like the Il18s, one of which has a forward freight door, and the An24s. We had an internal flight on a Tu134A, which seemed to me no worse than the Soviet era Aeroflot machines. As we boarded our Il62 back to Beijing, we were actually sharing the ramp with a Tu134 heading for Macau, a busy day for Sunan:) Onboard the Il62, the catering was no worse than a full meal as served on a quality charter flight, and believe me you didn’t go hungry! Beer and wines are available on board, as are soft drinks. Our Tu134 catering was some biscuits and lemonade, but it was a short sector. If you get the chance to visit the DPRK, don’t pass it up, and just think you could get a ride on the new Tu204!
By: KabirT - 8th February 2011 at 12:10
it would be awesome to hear some more experiences of your Air Koryo flight, and Pyongyang airport. 🙂
By: MSR777 - 8th February 2011 at 11:46
Not a thing you get to see everyday, some very not-so-subtle propaganda right in the start.
Apparently Air Koryo now also has an “official” Facebook page.
Well you don’t get that on their Il62s! at least we didn’t. There was just the usual ‘in aisle’ demo by the cabin crew in very broken, but polite, English. Having travelled on both their Il62s and Tu134As, I have noticed the cleanliness and smartness of the cabins, and the charm of the cabin crews. Then again, as their fleet gets so little utilisation, thats probably not surprising. I notice that the c/a on the video uses the term “airplane” whereas on the Il62 flight that we were on, they seemed to emphasise the term “aeroplane. I wish they would change their logo though, it always reminds me of a witch on a broomstick with her hat billowing in the breeze:)
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February 8, 2011 at 12:27 am