Dear Korean Air,

If you’re starting service to a new destination (let’s just say Nairobi, Kenya, for example), chances are that describing the locals as “indigenous people full of primitive energy” won’t get you very far. See this Huffington Post article for full details on the screw up.

Posted on June 26th, 2012 by lucky
Filed under: Media, Other Airlines | 14 Comments »

  1. June 26th, 2012 at 5:48 am

    Mike said,

    Primitive energy?
    ROTFLOL!

  2. June 26th, 2012 at 6:17 am

    Aeroman said,

    Not a translator but rather a cultural sensitivity coach. I am sure this was lost in translation.

  3. June 26th, 2012 at 6:39 am

    Thomas199023 said,

    Very funny! :D

  4. June 26th, 2012 at 8:55 am

    Spencer W. said,

    Hilarious.

  5. June 26th, 2012 at 9:40 am

    Voice of reason said,

    Reputation-wise this is a virtual egg on the face for them, but practically speaking, the number of native English speakers that will fly this route is close to nil. Without the internet I doubt anyone would have even noticed.

  6. June 26th, 2012 at 11:20 am

    Jetstream007 said,

    @voice of reason:
    people in Kenya (former UK colony) speak English….

    But th emarketing dept. did a good job: almost everyone now knows about this route :-)

  7. June 26th, 2012 at 1:04 pm

    Dax said,

    I’m kind of 50/50 on this one. It’s bad form, true enough, but is it entirely incorrect? Honest question actually, because I’ve never been there and don’t have any plans to visit myself.

  8. June 26th, 2012 at 3:07 pm

    AK said,

    Woo, Skyteam!

  9. June 26th, 2012 at 4:54 pm

    milestogo said,

    lmao! Oh, wow, thanks, I really needed a LOL moment badly!

  10. June 26th, 2012 at 8:44 pm

    AK said,

    That being said … does KE have fares from LAX (or other North American cities) to NBO? If so, that means that it’s eligible for Skymiles redemptions :D

  11. June 27th, 2012 at 8:53 am

    Ozaer N. said,

    hehehe typical!….that is hilarious!

  12. June 27th, 2012 at 11:59 am

    arcticbull said,

    @AK I checked ExpertFlyer and KE doesn’t publish any fares on this route :( All that exists are the IATA fares. However I don’t think this should stop you from trying!

  13. June 27th, 2012 at 12:36 pm

    AK said,

    @arcticbull It seems only fares through the Atlantic are possible for NBO. A theoretical direct flight is a bit over 9600 and via CDG is 9700. Via ICN is 12244 miles.

  14. July 1st, 2012 at 11:49 pm

    rice said,

    it is just a result of poor translation.
    some good meaning words cannot translate to english easily.

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