[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s airliners received high marks for their safety measures and punctuality, the Transport Ministry said on Aug. 2.

Korean Air, the country’s top flag carrier, and its budget unit Jin Air received an “A” rating in the evaluation report compiled by the ministry.

Air Busan, a low budget airline under South Korea’s No. 2 flag carrier Asiana Airlines, also was rated as “A” in the overall evaluation result. But its parent airline company got a “B” rating in the overall report.

In the six-stage evaluation, an airline is awarded an “A”, the highest grade, if its services and safety measures are rated as “excellent.” The lowest grade is “F,” according to the ministry.

The two largest air carriers -- Korean Air and Asiana -- were required to raise their measures for damage relief for passengers and their satisfaction, the evaluation results showed.　

Korean Air received a “B” grade for its damage relief measures for passengers and their satisfaction, and its smaller local rival, Asiana, got “B” and “C” ratings each for its damage relief steps and customers’ satisfaction.

The findings also showed that the country’s three other low-cost carriers -- Eastar Jet, Jeju Air and T-way -- were all given “B” grade in overall evaluation. In the safety category, all of the five LCCs won the A grade.

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