SOUTH Korea’s Asiana Airlines took delivery of its first Airbus A380 aircraft yesterday, which it plans to deploy on routes from Seoul to Tokyo, Hong Kong and Bangkok for a start.
Eventually, the airline will use it on Los Angeles-bound services as well.
The aircraft is the first of six A380s Asiana has on order, powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines. Each aircraft comes with a premium three-class layout for total seating capacity of 495 passengers, with 12 private suites in First Suite, 66 fully flat seats in Business Smartium and 417 seats in Travel Class. All seats are equipped with the latest on-demand in-flight entertainment systems.
“We are delighted to receive our first A380 today, which is key to our future vision and fleet modernisation strategy,” said Park Sam Koo, chairman of Kumho Asiana Group at the occasion yesterday.
“I am confident that Asiana can further enhance its level of customer service and that the A380 will play a significant role in helping us to remain at the forefront of the airline business.”
Asiana also has on order 30 of the all-new A350 XWB, which promises 25 per cent lower operating costs than the competition.
