Korean Air (KE, Seoul Incheon) could place an order for 30 aircraft during next month’s Farnborough Air Show, Bloomberg reported, saying that the flag carrier is analysing whether to select Boeing’s B787 or Airbus’s A350.
Korean Air chairman and chief executive Cho Won-Tae told the news agency that the decision will likely be the B787, as despite the US manufacturer’s current travails, “I believe in Boeing’s management. They will pull through. It might take some time.”
Earlier this year, the airline was reportedly in talks to acquire at least ten B777X widebodies. Additionally, the company placed an order for twenty-seven A350-1000s and six A350-900s in April.
The ch-aviation fleets module shows that Korean Air currently has 113 aircraft on order, including thirty-nine A321-200Ns, one A321-200NX, six A350-900s, twenty-seven A350-1000s, twenty-three B737-8s, seven B787-9s, and ten B787-10s.
The company's fleet is composed of 161 aircraft, including ten A220-300s, ten A321-200NX, four A330-200s, twenty-one A330-300s, nine A380-800s, one B737-700(BBJ), five B737-8s, two B737-800s, ten B737-900s, six B737-900ERs, four B747-400ERFs, nine B747-8s, seven B747-8Fs, eight B777-200ERs, twelve B777-200Fs, four B777-300s, twenty-five B777-300ERs, one B787-8(BBJ), and thirteen B787-9s.
Separately, Cho Won-tae said Korean Air expects to gain full approval from the US government to move ahead with its merger with Asiana Airlines (OZ, Seoul Incheon) by the end of October. The United States antitrust authority is the last of 14 jurisdictions to respond to the Korean Air merger’s plan, first announced in 2021.
“We have done everything the US and the EU have requested us to do,” Bloomberg quoted Cho as saying.
The merger involves Korean buying a 63.9% stake in its long-time rival for KRW1.8 trillion won (USD1.32 billion), taking over its operations and discontinuing the Asiana brand. Additionally, Asiana is selling its cargo business, and several companies are interested in the process, such as Air Incheon, Jeju Air, Air Premia, and Eastar Jet. If the deal is approved, Korean Air will become the tenth-largest passenger carrier in the world.
