Korean Air to deploy Boeing 737 Max aircraft from March

Korean Air Lines Co. will start flying Boeing 737-8 aircraft from March, nearly two years after the global grounding of the jet type by airlines in the wake of a system failure that led to fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.

South Korea’s largest full-service carrier said on Monday a single jet of the type, also known as Boeing 737 Max, arrived at the Gimpo International Airport from Japan on Sunday.

The jet is the first of six Boeing 737 Max aircraft that Korean Air plans to bring to service by the end of this year. The carrier will bring in 24 additional jets by 2028 under a deal it signed with Boeing in November 2015 to buy a total of 30 units of the 737 Max aircraft.

Korean Air’s resumption of the jet flight comes as airlines around the world have been bringing the type of the jet back into service since the ban was lifted last year.

Korea’s aviation regulators gave local airlines the green light in November 2021.

For the safety of the flight of the jet, Korean Air said it is running a maintenance team composed of veteran engineers for routine checks on Boeing 737-8 aircraft and will assign pilots with more than 7,000 hours of flight experience to fly the type.

Korea’s transport ministry also plans to closely monitor Korean Air’s operation of the jets.

PROVEN SAFETY

With a track record of 898,737 hours of flight on 360,751 rounds globally, the Boeing 737 Max has proven its safety, particularly after Boeing’s thorough check following the accidents, according to Korean Air. The type is also eco-friendly with 13% less carbon emissions than the 737NG model.

Korean Air is currently in the middle of completing its 1.8 trillion won ($1.6 billion) acquisition of Asiana Airlines Inc.

The acquisition is pending approval by aviation authorities in Europe, the US and other major countries, where the two Korean airlines operate.

Korean Air’s parent, Hanjin KAL Co., and state-run Korea Development Bank, the main creditor of the two airlines, said in November of 2020 that Korean Air will acquire a 63.9% stake in the crosstown rival to grow the combined entity as one of the world’s top 10 carriers.

Write to Kyung-Min Kang at Kkm1026@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.