Airline Ranking · As of July 16, 2026

Korean Air

Ranked #21 of 32 carriers on what is already operationally available in 2026, not on a 2050 pledge.

Score out of 100

47.3

Below half marks · rank 21 of 32 · Asia-Pacific

Why Korean Air lands here

Credible reporting base, but thin public evidence in the top-weighted areas.

0best in the world: 78.5100

That is 31.2 points behind the best-scoring carrier in the world, which itself only reaches 78.5. No carrier reaches 80, and 13 of 32 score below half marks.

What this score is built from

Eight decision areas, weighted by what moves emissions now

Each area is graded against what Korean Air publishes, then scaled by how well that work is evidenced. Contrail avoidance carries the same weight as sustainable aviation fuel, because both are available today.

Where the points are

52.7 of the 100 points are still on the table for Korean Air. The three largest sit here:

  • 23.8

    Contrail avoidance and non-CO₂ action

    1.2 of 25 earned

  • 9.5

    SAF deployment and market-building

    15.5 of 25 earned

  • 7.5

    Customer participation, checkout donation, and sustainability access

    2.5 of 10 earned

  • SAF deployment and market-building

    SAF

    15.5 / 25

    rough grade 3.5 of 5Bevidence ×0.909.5 points still available

    There is meaningful SAF intent or activity, but scale and disclosed evidence are still moderate.

  • Contrail avoidance and non-CO₂ action

    Contrails

    1.2 / 25

    rough grade 0.5 of 5Eevidence ×0.3523.8 points still available

    Public contrail-avoidance action is thin or absent, which now carries a large scoring cost.

  • Fleet efficiency and operational decarbonization

    Ops

    9.3 / 12

    rough grade 4 of 5Aevidence ×1.002.7 points still available

    Fleet renewal and operating-efficiency work are visible and material.

  • Climate governance and transparency

    Governance

    8.3 / 10

    rough grade 4.5 of 5Bevidence ×0.901.7 points still available

    Korean Air benefits from a credible ESG reporting base, but the public evidence in contrails and customer participation is still thin.

  • Customer participation, checkout donation, and sustainability access

    Customer

    2.5 / 10

    rough grade 3.5 of 5Eevidence ×0.357.5 points still available

    Customer-facing climate participation is limited, hard to find, or not embedded in the booking path.

  • Ground operations, waste, and circularity

    Ground

    3.3 / 6

    rough grade 3 of 5Bevidence ×0.902.7 points still available

    There is some evidence of ground or waste action, but the public detail remains limited.

  • Community and nonprofit investment

    Community

    3.0 / 6

    rough grade 2.5 of 5Aevidence ×1.003.0 points still available

    There is real community activity, but the reporting or scale is moderate.

  • Climate advocacy and sector collaboration

    Advocacy

    4.2 / 6

    rough grade 3.5 of 5Aevidence ×1.001.8 points still available

    The airline is visibly engaged in sector collaboration, policy work, or broader climate signaling beyond internal operations.

Evidence codes

  • A×1.00Current quantified disclosure or clearly documented live program.
  • B×0.90Good disclosure with small limits.
  • C×0.80Older-cycle, group-level, proxy, or incomplete quantified evidence.
  • D×0.65Fragmented or partial proxy evidence.
  • E×0.35No credible public evidence; floor only.

Grades are recorded to the nearest half point, so the published pillar score is the authoritative figure and the grade is a rounded description of it. Evidence quality for Korean Air overall is rated medium.

How Korean Air compares

Either side in the table

Southwest Airlines is one place ahead at 49.5, and LATAM Airlines Group one place behind at 46.3.

Within Asia-Pacific

Ranked 7 of 7 carriers scored in Asia-Pacific, behind Cathay Pacific at 59.3.

Who already leads the areas Korean Air is losing most

  • Contrail avoidance and non-CO₂ action

    American Airlines earns 25.0 of 25 here. Korean Air earns 1.2.

  • SAF deployment and market-building

    Air France-KLM earns 23.0 of 25 here. Korean Air earns 15.5.

  • Customer participation, checkout donation, and sustainability access

    IAG earns 9.4 of 10 here. Korean Air earns 2.5.

The full methodology, with a worked example →Every source behind the ranking →

If you work at Korean Air

We can tell you which points are cheapest to win

Two of the eight areas, booking-path participation and published uptake, are the ones our own real-money research speaks to directly: a redesigned donation step roughly doubled giving across three carriers, with no cost in brand favorability or booking intent.

Ask for your breakdownSee all 32 carriers

Think we have this wrong? If we have missed a published program, send it over and we will re-score and note the change.