Korean Air to retire all A380 jets over 5 years; B787 likely replacements

Korean Air Lines Co. (KAL) will retire its superjumbo fleet of 10 A380 passenger jets over the next five years, a move the South Korean flag carrier expects to cut costs and improve efficiency amid the protracted pandemic.

The country’s largest full-service carrier also plans to stop flying its 10 B747-8i passenger jets within a decade.

The move comes as Korean Air is putting the final touches to its announced acquisition of domestic rival Asiana Airlines Inc. over a span of two years.

“The A380s will be leaving Korean Air’s fleet within five years, and the Boeing 747-8i fleet will follow suit within 10 years,” Chairman Cho Won-tae said in an interview with the FlightGlobal on Thursday.

Korean Air has flown the A380 and B747 jets on long-haul international routes to take advantage of the economies of scale, but just like its global peers, the carrier has been suffering from growing losses by flying the fuel-guzzling planes amid dwindling passengers in the pandemic era.

The double-decker four-engine aircraft with about 400 seats each were popular among air travelers before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, most of the jets have already been phased out of Korean Air's operational fleet.

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

In November of last year, Korean Air agreed to take over the beleaguered airline, a deal set to create the world's seventh-largest airline. The acquisition is pending approval by the nation's antitrust body, the Korea Fair Trade Commission, which plans to complete its review by year's end.

The acquisition is also subject to approval by antitrust regulators in nine other countries.

EXPIRY OF LEASE CONTRACTS

Korean Air will inherit six Asiana Airlines A380s when the acquisition of the rival airline is completed.

Industry watchers say Korean Air will likely retire all its combined fleet of superjumbo jets upon the expiry of its lease contracts on the A380 and B747 planes.

Instead, the flag carrier will fly more two-engine passenger aircraft, including Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, according to industry officials.

In 2019, Korean Air said it is buying 20 planes of the B787-10 and 10 units of the B878-9.

The 269-seat B787 consumes up to 25% less fuel than its similar-size aircraft and emits 20% less carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

Earlier this year, the carrier raised 350 billion won by issuing so-called environmental, social and governance (ESG) bonds. The company said it will use the proceeds to buy more eco-friendly airplanes.

Other global airlines such as Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Air France and Singapore Airlines have also stopped flying the larger A380 planes as the aviation industry reels from the global pandemic.

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