FACING challenges from record high oil prices, airlines across the world have launched extra services to win passengers.
First-class and business-class customers, who generally account for 20 percent of total passengers but contribute 80 percent of income, are major targets in the carriers' war.
Korean Air's VIP lounge in Incheon International Airport offers showers, massages and food for transit passengers, with wireless Internet and TV.
The carrier flies to 21 cities in China, including Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong. By flying through the Seoul hub, passengers can reach the United States, France, Germany, Italy, and Russia, among other destinations.
Korean Air has also set up an information desk at Incheon staffed by Chinese-speaking receptionists to help guide people through transit procedures.
And the carrier has concentrated on offering various styles of food, especially Korean cuisine, on inflight meals.
Korean Air, which flies to 115 cities in 38 countries, and Inha University launched a Food Safety Research Center this month to improve hygiene inspections and enhance the quality of ingredients used for its inflight meals.
"With the center in charge of screening food ingredients provided to Korean Air Catering and all relevant Hanjin Group and Inha Foundation organizations, we will be able to guarantee the best quality for all foods provided by Korean Air and Hanjin Group," said Yang-Ho Cho, chairman of the Hanjin Group, parent of Korea Air.
The airline has also adopted audio and video on demand systems to allow passengers to choose from more than 50 movies and 4,700 songs on 22 long-haul routes.
Tourists heading to Seoul can get a tour brochure on the flight which lists information about sightseeing, shopping, hotels and restaurants, as well as main streets of the city.
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways renovated its cabins in May to offer flat beds for first-class and business-class passengers.
The carrier also plans to renovate cabins of 86 jets by 2012, which will create a first-class capsule with its own cloakroom, 17-inch television and a two-meter-long flat bed.
Dragonair, a member of the Cathay Pacific Group, cooperated with Allure, a French restaurant at Le Royal Meridien hotel in Shanghai, in May to offer French food for first-class and business-class travelers heading to Hong Kong. Passengers can taste 11 main courses with six appetizers and wine.
Emirates Airline's in-flight menus created by world-leading chefs reflect the culture and preferences of its international customers, said the airline. Great care is taken in catering to passengers' ethnic preferences, and a range of 24 meals can be ordered to meet religious and medical dietary needs.
Dumplings
On flights to and from China, food options served in-flight include congee, dumplings, spring rolls, noodles and more. Emirates has one of the greatest wine lists available in the air, boasting the best vintage wines, ports and champagnes.
Singapore Airlines spent 360 million yuan (US$52.59 million) and four years on its cabin decoration, including the world's widest business-class seat, a 15.4-inch LCD screen, USB port and other products designed by Givenchy.
In the carrier's new Airbus A380 jet, it has created 12 luxurious suites and passengers can sleep on a stand-alone bed rather than one converted from a seat.
Air China, China's biggest international carrier, has spent 688 million yuan in renovating first-class and business-class cabins of 15 wide-body aircraft that fly from Beijing and Shanghai to Frankfurt, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Airlines are now positioning their flights as more than just a mode of transport - they are a combination of a five-star hotel, luxurious restaurant and shopping mall.