While I was elated to read that Korean Air will not immediately retire its Airbus A380 or 747-8 fleet, I remain a bit pessimistic at this point that either aircraft, but especially the A380, will ever actually fly again.
Korean Air Hints At The Future Of The A380 And 747-8
If there’s one thing we’ve seen throughout this pandemic, it is what a difference a day make. We’ve seen demand fall off the cliff, surge again past pre-pandemic levels (within the USA at least), only to see it drop off again as over concerns surrounding the delta variant and higher case numbers.
In that sense, any speculation about the next few months, let alone the next 5-10 years, seems premature. Nevertheless, Korean Air has announced its intentions concerning its four-engine fleet, as reported by FlightGlobal,
The good news is that neither the Airbus A380 nor Boeing 747-8 will be retired immediately. The bad news is that just because these aircraft are not retired, does not mean they will fly.
Korean Air A380 Retirement Plans
Korean Air CEO Walter Cho said, “The A380s will be leaving Korean Air’s fleet within five years.”
Within means up to five years, not necessarily in five years.
Korean Air currently has 10 Airbus A380s while Asiana has six A380. The Korean Air – Asiana merger is set to finalize in 2024 and I don’t think Korean Air is going to touch those Asiana whales.
Theoretically, I could see Korean’s 10 A380s take the skies if demand somehow surges back, but at this point I find it unlikely. East Asia, as a whole, has taken a very cautious approach to the pandemic and will largely remain closed off to foreign visitors in a manner which could justify the 407-seats per flight on the A380.
Korean Air 747-8 Retirement Plans
Cho said, “The Boeing 747-8I fleet will also follow suit within ten years.”
Again, within could mean tomorrow.
That said, I am much more optimistic about the 747-8 fleet returning to the skies, which features Korean Air’s superb first class suites and is simply one of the most beautiful aircraft in the world.
While I don’t think it will happen, if it happens, for at least a couple years, there is a much greater chance this aircraft will fly again.
CONCLUSION
The A380 and 747-8 are two of my favorite aircraft and I hate to hear plans of another airline to retire their fleets. That said, at least the Korean Air announcement is not with immediate effect. Hopefully I am spectacularly wrong and demand will come roaring back for transpacific travel. If it does, I cannot wait to step onaboard Korean Air’s A380 and 747-8.
(H/T: SINJim)
There are some who can tell others that they’ve flown aboard the Concorde. I have not. I had the theoretical chance to do so but did not. I have been inside a Concorde in a museum as well as pretended that the CRJ200 that I was a passenger aboard was a Concorde (wow, that is stretching it!)
Someday, the same will be said of the A380 and 747-8 or any 747. I have not had a chance to fly aboard either but I have been aboard 747-400’s many times and even the 747SP. Future generations may only have the 777-9 to experience as the big widebody. Sad.
I have every intention of grabbing any flight I can on a 747-800. To me the 747 is still the quintesential jumbo that has led me across the world for decades. It is The Queen no matter the A-380. That feeling, sitting in the nose, it’s like nothing else in aviation and is filled with incredible memories of so many places I traveled.
@Derek The Concorde was fun for one time (no, I didn’t pay…back when USAir offered awards on it). It was like one step up from a CRJ-200 to be honest as far as comfort. A great experience, glad I did it, but not all it was cut out to be. But I still enjoy the complimentary Concorde pen I got, lol.
@Stuart, I am derek, not Derek. Derek is another person that writes comments occasionally. Good thing Derek doesn’t write wild stuff or people may thinks it’s me! Don’t laugh. I once knew a woman who called herself A. _____ . Let’s say “Smith” as an example so A. Smith. She didn’t call herself Ann Smith because she said there was an Ann Smith that murdered someone in her town.
Oh, I also missed out the chance to fly aboard a Dassault Mercure. I was working in a French city that had Mercure service and should have booked a flight. The plane went to cities that were worth visiting. Only 10 Mercures were made for airline use but the prototype was later converted to airline standards so 11 flew for Air Inter.
Will Korean Air’s A380s every fly again? I think the answer to that question is yes they will fly again because they already are flying now. Korean Air operates 1x weekly passenger flights on their A380s between ICN and CAN; KE865 operates on Wednesdays only to do COVID entry restrictions. Will they use their A380s on US routes in the future who knows but they will find a use for those aircraft in the interim.
I really had no idea. That’s quite encouraging. Thanks for sharing that KE865 data point!
There’s enough demand pre-pandemic for A380s to LAX and JFK, not really anywhere else. Will probably just serve those routes if/when they return, and maybe China
My only A380 experience was on Air France three years ago on a trip from IAD to Abidjan Cote d’Ivoire via CDG. The upstairs business class was nice, especially the “art lounge” at the front. I enjoyed being on the huge bird but honestly it takes forever to load/unload. Still glad I had the opportunity to ride aboard this amazing machine when I did.
Hopefully Korean will fly A380 again to USA. I believe you haven’t flown in the Korean Air A380 yet (from a post from last year) so hopefully you will fly it unlesss you already have and my brain isn’t working yet this afternoon lol
I haven’t flown in KE 747-8 so I hope to get to fly it someday before retirement.