Korean Air is set to begin scheduled operations with its first Airbus A321neo in December, as the carrier looks to continue its fleet modernization program with more aircraft deliveries in 2023.
The airline has ordered 30 A321neos and intends to use them on routes to China, Japan and Southeast Asia. The aircraft will be configured with 174 economy-class seats and eight business- class seats that convert into lie-flat beds.
A second A321neo is scheduled to be delivered by year-end 2022, Korean Air tells Aviation Daily. However, the airline could not give more specifics on next year’s A321neo deliveries due to global supply chain bottlenecks. The remaining aircraft are slated to arrive by 2027.
Korean Air executives said in June the airline was expecting up to five A321neos to be delivered by the end of 2022. However, deliveries were delayed by seat production issues, the executives said.
While the A321neos are part of a broader effort to modernize the narrowbody fleet, they are not planned as one-for-one replacements of another type, the carrier says. Korean Air is set to inherit even more A321neo orders when its proposed merger with Asiana Airlines is completed.
The Korean Air Group also has 24 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft due for delivery, having already received five, according to Aviation Week Network’s Fleet Discovery database. No more MAXs are due this year, the airline says, and it is not yet known how many will arrive in 2023.
In the widebody fleet, Korean Air has 10 more 787-9s and 20 787-10s on order. It already operates 10 of the -9 variant.
The 787-10s were due to begin arriving this year, but the first delivery is now expected in 2023. The -10s likely will replace some of the carrier’s older 777s, although not on a one-for-one basis, the airline says.
