Korean Air takes delivery of first A380
25 May 2011
Korean Air on Tuesday took delivery of its first Airbus 380 at a ceremony in Toulouse. Korean becomes the sixth airline to take delivery of the A380 superjumbo.
It also becomes the first Asian carrier to operate a GP7200-powered A380.
Korean has 10 of these massive airliners on order which are all due for delivery by 2014. According to Korean chairman, Yang Ho Cho, the airline will put the A380 in service next month.
Korean's A380 will be the 49th such aircraft to enter service worldwide.
There are currently 20 GP7200-powered A380s in service, with 104 on order, according to Engine Alliance, which is a joint company of General Electric and Pratt &Whitney.
Korean will initially operate the aircraft from Seoul Incheon to other Asian destinations, such as Tokyo Narita and Bangkok. That will be followed later this year by service to North America (either Los Angeles or New York JFK) and Europe (either Paris Charles de Gaulle or Frankfurt).
