As if to assure customers that delivery of the first of four Airbus A380 will indeed take place in May 2011, Korean Air (KE) officials issued this photo of their A380 in the production line in Toulouse yesterday, October 20, 2010.
In April, Airbus revealed production delays would affect the original delivery date of December of this year (see news). According to the KE news release, the first aircraft was “now in the middle of final assembly process”. Its second, third and fourth siblings, which are also in various stages of production, will arrive in Seoul in June, July and August 2011, respectively.
Features of KE's version of the A380:
• Between 400 to 450 seats
• Kosmo Suites (first class), already installed in KE's mid- and long-haul flights
• Prestige Class seats which stretch out to 180 degrees
• Ergonomically designed New Economy seats
• Advanced AVOD system in all classes
The airline plans to have five A380s by the end of 2011, and from 2012 to 2014, five more will be added to the fleet, to add up to total of 10 A380s. In the beginning, the A380 will be deployed on short-haul routes to cities in Japan and East Asia. Then from August 2011, it will be used on long-haul routes to the US and Europe.
For more details, visit www.koreanair.com
Margie T Logarta
