Asiana Airlines is the last major operator of the Boeing 747-400 ‘Jumbo Jet’ in the Asia-Pacific region.
However, the South Korean carrier plans to retire the iconic aircraft in 2024, so this might be your final chance to fly the aircraft if you are based in the region and don’t intend to fly Lufthansa any time soon (which also flies the 747-400 to Seoul!).
Asiana has just one last 747-400 passenger aircraft in active service. Currently, that aircraft is exclusively operating between the airline’s hub at Seoul Incheon airport and Tokyo’s Narita airport as OZ102 and OZ101, five times a week.
Going forward, based on the airline’s most recent schedule updates, Asiana plans to fly the 747-400 to Osaka from late October, as well as to Taipei from 1 March, before its scheduled retirement later next year.
Asiana’s 747-400s used to have a first class cabin in the nose of the aircraft and this has been preserved on the last operating aircraft.
The old first class seats are no longer sold as such, however. Rather, they are now labelled ‘Royal Business’ seats and are often available for an additional fee.
Sometimes, on flights where regular business class is fully booked, these seats can be reserved in advance free of charge; at other times they may be available when you check in at the airport.
In the past, before upgrading its fleet with Airbus A350s, the airline used to operate its 747-400 fleet on its longest routes, including on the nonstop Seoul Incheon to New York Kennedy route.
Star Alliance member Asiana also still has six Airbus A380 ‘superjumbos’ in its current fleet. In the upcoming winter schedule commencing in late October, these will operate to Los Angeles (up to double daily), Narita, Sydney, and Bangkok.
Based on the airline’s latest plans, Asiana plans to continue flying the A380 until 2026.
On a separate note, there is now serious uncertainty over whether the airline’s merger with Korean Air will proceed as planned.
Various anti-trust authorities are blocking the transaction, and Asiana creditors including the Korea Development Bank (KDB) are reportedly looking for new suitors for the airline.
