Korean Air to sign contract with Airbus for A350s

Korean Air will sign a contract with Airbus for the procurement of 33 state-of-the-art A350 family aircraft. The deal, which includes 27 A350-1000s and six A350-900s, is valued at USD 13.7 billion.

The order will supplement the airline’s long-term fleet operations as it gradually retires its older aircraft. The procurement of the next-generation, eco-friendly A350 is not only aligned with the airlines’ sustainability efforts, but also is seen as preparation for the integration of Asiana Airlines.

The A350-1000 is the largest in the A350 family and can accommodate from 350 to 410 passengers in a standard three-class configuration. The aircraft makes use of advanced composite materials, resulting in reduction in fuel consumption and carbon emissions of up to 25%, in comparison to similarly sized previous generation aircraft models.

With the longest flight range among existing passenger aircraft, the A350-1000 can operate up to 16,000km with full payload.

The A350-900 variant is about 7 meters shorter than the A350-1000 with a range of 15,370km and typically seats 300-350 passengers in a three-class layout. The airline can deploy the aircraft on its long-haul routes such as Seoul Incheon-New York, where the airline currently operates two daily flights.

In addition to the agreement to purchase 33 A350s, Korean Air plans to introduce 50 Airbus A321neos, 10 Boeing 787-9s, 20 Boeing 787-10s, and 30 Boeing 737-8s. The airline will continue to prioritize fleet modernization and reduction of carbon emissions through the operation of new aircraft and other sustainability activities.

About Korean Air

Serving the world for more than 50 years, Korean Air is one of the world’s top 20 airlines, carrying more than 27 million passengers in 2019, pre-COVID. With its global hub at Incheon International Airport (ICN), the airline serves 111 cities in 40 countries on five continents with a modern fleet of 160 aircraft and over 20,000 professional employees.

Korean Air’s outstanding performance and commitment to the highest level of safety and customer service has widely been recognized. The airline has been granted numerous awards including a 5-star airline rating from Skytrax as well as Air Transport World’s Airline of the Year and Cargo Operator of the Year awards.

Korean Air is a founding member of the SkyTeam airline alliance and has grown into one of the largest transpacific airlines through its joint venture with Delta Air Lines.

For more information about Korean Air, please visit www.koreanair.com, Korean Air Newsroom, facebook.com/KoreanAir, instagram.com/KoreanAirworld and Twitter@KoreanAir_KE.