Korean Air (KE, Seoul Incheon) has signed a dry-lease agreement with CALC for one A330-200, returning to the type's operations less than half a year after it was retired. The widebody was delivered to Korean Air in March 2025, added to cover for the delayed deliveries of new aircraft.
Although the airline did not announce which aircraft would join its fleet, but ch-aviation research revealed that B-6135 (msn 1096) flew from Guangzhou and Busan on March 12. It has not been active since. The 15.1 year-old jet is powered by Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines and is outfitted with 242 economy class seats and 18 in business class. It was last operated by China Southern Airlines, but the ferry flight to Korea was not under that airline's code. It will likely become HL8707 once registered in Korea.
The Korean-language news site The Guru reported, citing an unnamed Korean Air official, that the carrier had decided to dry-lease the aircraft amid delivery delays of factory-new jets. "Nothing has been specifically decided on routes or the timing of the deployment," he added.
ch-aviation asked Korean Air for comment on the new lease deal.
The carrier previously operated eight A330-200s but retired the last of the type in October 2024. It still operates twenty A330-300s, according to ch-aviation fleets data.
Korean Air's chief executive, Won-Tae Cho, said that the airline was "short by about 20 aircraft per manufacturer" which is why it is forced to prolong the service of its A380-800s and B747-8s. Korean is set to receive forty-one A321-200NX, four A350-900s, twenty-seven A350-1000s, nineteen B737-8s, nine B787-10s, and six B787-9s.
