Los Angeles mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa announced that Korean Air will launch new, nonstop service on June 2, 2008, from Los Angeles to S'o Paulo, Brazil's economic center. The service between the commercial hubs is a direct result of the Mayor's 2006 trade mission to Asia and a reflection of his intent to re-establish Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) as one of the world's great international gateway airports.

"We are excited by the new service to S'o Paulo and look forward to its start this summer," Mayor Villaraigosa said. "The establishment of new international service from Los Angeles is a high priority for my Administration and a focus point of our promotional initiatives around the world as we work to revitalize LAX, expand operations at LA/Ontario International Airport and boost the Southern California economy."

Subject to government approval, KE061 will operate Monday-Wednesday-Friday flights between LAX and S'o Paulo (GRU) beginning June 2 using Boeing 777-200 aircraft. The aircraft will have a seating capacity of 260 in three classes, including eight first-class sleeper seats, 27 lie-flat business-class seats and 225 economy-class seats.

The flight is tentatively scheduled to depart LAX at 7:30 p.m. and arrive in S'o Paulo at 11:00 a.m. the next morning. The return flight will leave S'o Paulo at 1:30 p.m. and arrive LAX at 9:30 p.m. the same day.

S'o Paulo is the largest city in Brazil with a population of more than 10 million, the second largest city in the world, and the most populous city in South America. Korean Air will be the only airline with nonstop service between Los Angeles and Brazil.

"It is fitting that Los Angeles travelers have a nonstop option for service to Brazil's financial capital and it is my hope that Korean Air will increase its frequency to daily service," said Mayor Villaraigosa, who visited China, Japan and South Korea in October 2006 to promote trade with Los Angeles. In South Korea, the Mayor's delegation visited Seoul and Busan.

Asia is Los Angeles' top regional trading partner with more than 564,000 tons of air cargo valued at nearly $45 billion annually, while South Korea is the City's fourth-largest overseas visitor market.

Korean Air is the largest cargo carrier in the world and carries more air cargo at LAX than any other passenger airline. The airline also is the largest transpacific passenger carrier out of Los Angeles, and flies from more cities in the Americas to more cities in China than any other airline in the world. This new service will provide an important air cargo connection between Asia and Brazil that will generate a significant positive economic impact on the Southern California economy.

Korean Air is the eighth carrier in recent months to begin or announce new international service to Los Angeles. The airline currently flies 24 weekly roundtrips from Los Angeles to Seoul and Tokyo.