Korean Air takes delivery of its first Airbus A380

Korean Air (Seoul-Incheon) today (May 24) celebrated the delivery of its first A380 at a special ceremony at Airbus in Toulouse. The ceremony was attended by Korean Air Chairman Yang Ho Cho and hosted by Airbus President and CEO Tom Enders. EADS CEO Louis Gallois was also present at the event. Korean Air is the sixth airline to take delivery of the A380 and has ordered a total of 10 aircraft.

Korean Air will initially operate the A380 from its Seoul hub to selected destinations in Asia, followed by nonstop services to North America and Europe.

Korean Air will be the first Airbus A380 customer to dedicate the entire upper deck of the aircraft to Prestige (business) Class passengers with 94 lie-flat Prestige Class seats. It is also the first airline in the industry to have a “Duty Free Showcase” on the A380 aircraft. The unique feature will have a variety of duty-free products displayed with a dedicated cabin crew member on hand to assist and advise passengers with their shopping.

Korean Air will also become the first Asian carrier to operate the GP7200 engine.

The GP7200 engine is the leading engine for the Airbus A380 aircraft.  It has been selected to power 56% of all A380s on order with engine selections.  There are 20 GP7200-powered A380s in service and 104 more on order.

In addition to Korean Air, Emirates and Air France operate GP7200-powered A380 aircraft.  Etihad and Air Austral have also selected GP7200 engines for their A380 fleets.

According to the manufacturer, “the Engine Alliance is a 50/50 joint venture of General Electric and Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corporation. The GP7200 is the result of innovations to the combined technologies of its member companies’ most successful wide-body engines: the GE90 and the PW4000. The GP7200 utilizes the lessons learned from more than 35 million flight hours of successful operation with these legacy engines and incorporates new technology to produce the quietest, most fuel efficient engine for the A380.  The GP7200 is certified at 76,500 pounds (340 kN) of thrust and has the capability to produce more than 81,500 pounds (363 kN). Its emissions are well below current and anticipated regulations.”

GP7200 Engine Program participants include SNECMA (France), Techspace Aero (Belgium) and MTU Aero Engines (Germany).

Copyright Photo: Gerd Beilfuss. Please click on the photo for additional information.

Korean Air commercial for the new Airbus A380:

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