The first Korean Air Airbus A380 services are to run from Seoul to Tokyo and Hong Kong from June 1.
The airline will begin its A380 superjumbo service on the Seoul-Tokyo route, with the flight leaving Incheon International Airport at 10.10 local time.
After the aircraft returns to Seoul, it will then depart for Hong Kong the same afternoon. The carrier will gradually expand A380 services to Bangkok in July when a second A380 out of an order of ten arrives. The third A380 will enter service to New York from August, and fourth A380 to Los Angeles in October.
The introduction of the giant Airbus is expected to increase passengers from China, Japan, and East Asia transferring to the US and Europe, accelerating Incheon airport’s aim of becoming a global aviation hub.
The airline’s A380 will have a total of 407 seats: 12 first class and 301 economy class seats on the first level, and the 94 Prestige business class seats on the upper deck.
As previously reported by Travel Weekly, Korean Air is the first airline to devote the entire A380 second level to business travellers.
The 94 full-flat Prestige Class sleeper seats will have 74 inches between them and extra large partitions. The airline claims this will offer the kind of comfort and privacy normally reserved for first class passengers on other airlines. The economy class seats are spaced 34 inches apart.