You were hurt on a Korean Air flight between California and Seoul, or on a longer journey that connected through it. One question on this airline is harder than it should be, which is whether the aircraft you were on was actually Korean Air's.

Does the Montreal Convention Cover a Korean Air Flight?

Yes. The Republic of Korea joined the treaty in 2007 and the United States has been a party since 2003. The treaty governs international carriage between parties, measured by the itinerary you bought rather than the leg where you were hurt, so a ticket from Los Angeles through Seoul to Hanoi is international carriage end to end.

Below a threshold the treaty sets, Korean Air is not permitted to argue it was not at fault for an injury caused by an accident on board. Above that threshold it can defend itself by proving it took all reasonable measures, and if it cannot, nothing caps what it owes. The number is a floor under the claim rather than a ceiling over it.

Can You Sue Korean Air in California?

Often you can, and it is worth checking before you assume Seoul. The treaty gives an injured passenger a forum at their principal and permanent residence, provided the airline operates service to or from that place and does business there from premises it or a commercial partner occupies. Several factors determine whether those conditions were met on your trip, including the service the carrier was operating to or from California around that date and the presence it kept in the state. Send us the itinerary and we can review which forums are open to you. The mechanics are in suing a foreign airline in California.

Two Layers of Corporate Structure, and Why They Matter

Under US law, an airline a foreign government owns or controls can be treated as an arm of that state, which may cost the claimant a jury and changes how the airline has to be served. Korean Air's position on that question takes a moment to unpack, which is exactly why it should be unpacked at the start of a case rather than assumed.

Korean Air sits under a Korean holding company rather than being held directly by shareholders, and there has been a state-linked interest at the holding company level rather than in the airline. Two things matter in that arrangement: how large a holding is, and where in the structure it sits, since a stake in a parent is a different thing from ownership of the airline that flew you. The figures move, so we check them against a current source rather than carrying a number around.

Worth noting for completeness: a US airline has also held a stake in that same holding company. That is a commercial relationship rather than a governmental one, and it is a separate question from this one.

Which Airline Were You Actually On?

This is the part specific to Korean Air right now, and it is the reason to find your paperwork before doing anything else.

Korean Air has been absorbing Asiana Airlines, Korea's other long-haul carrier, following its acquisition. During an integration of that size the name on the ticket, the name on the aircraft, and the legal entity operating the flight can diverge for a stretch. On top of that, Korean Air runs a transpacific joint venture with its US SkyTeam partner, so a great deal of the California traffic is sold under the American carrier's name and flight number.

The treaty separates the contracting carrier that sold you the ticket from the actual carrier that operated the flight and lets a claim proceed against either. With three possible names in play, your booking confirmation and its operated-by line is the only document that settles it. The boarding pass will not, because the number on it frequently belongs to the seller.

What injures passengers

Common Injuries on the Seoul Run, and Which Ones the Treaty Reaches

The California sectors run eleven to thirteen hours, and Incheon is a large connecting hub into the rest of Asia.

Overhead Bin and Falling Baggage

A bin that opens in flight, or a bag coming down during deplaning. External, and the clearest case the treaty handles.

Hot Liquid and the Service Cart

Scalding tea or coffee, or a cart striking a shoulder in the aisle. The cabin is under service for most of the day.

Turbulence

An unbelted passenger thrown from a seat. External, and a real risk on the Pacific tracks. Whether the belt sign was on matters.

Jetway and Airstairs Falls

Inside the treaty, because embarking and disembarking are part of the carriage. The jetway and the airstairs both count.

A Fall Inside the Terminal

Outside the treaty. A fall inside Incheon is a premises claim in South Korea, often on a much shorter deadline. Do not let it sit.

Clots, Cardiac Events, and Back Injuries

The hard category. The airline's answer is that your own condition surfaced on an ordinary flight, and it has been difficult to overcome.

Where We Are Not the Right Call

If California is not where you principally live, the forum follows your real home. If you were hurt inside Incheon during a connection rather than on the aircraft or the jetway, that is a Korean premises claim and not a treaty claim. If the flight landed over two years ago the claim is very probably finished, regardless of what stage the airline says its review has reached. And a baggage loss runs through the airline's own process inside a notice window counted in days.

What to Do This Week

One. Collect every document with a carrier name on it: the booking confirmation, the boarding pass, the baggage tag. With the Asiana integration and the partner codeshare both in play, three different names can attach to one flight and you want all of them.

Two. Write the sequence down now, with the external event and the crew report at the center.

Three. See a physician before the record has a hole in it.

Four. Count two years from the landing date and treat it as the wall.

If you live in California and something external injured you on the aircraft, this is a workable claim and the carrier identity question is ours to untangle. We evaluate these claims at no cost, and we will tell you plainly if the treaty's accident standard is not met.