Korean Air A380 Service Launch on 1 June 2011 to Tokyo and Hong Kong

Korean Air has announced that its A380 launch schedule between Seoul and Tokyo and Hong Kong will start on 1st June. The tickets are now on sale.

The airline will begin its A380 service between Tokyo/Narita and Seoul/Incheon on 1st June, with the flight leaving Incheon International Airport at 10:10 a.m. Once the plane returns to Seoul/Incheon, the plane will then depart for Hong Kong that afternoon.

Korean Air will gradually expand its A380 service to Bangkok in July, once the second A380 arrives. The third A380 will launch service to New York from August, and fourth A380 to LA in October.

Korean Air’s A380 is one of the most spacious in the industry. Korean Air’s Business Class, called Prestige Class, will have 94 full-flat sleepers with 188cm (74 inches) between seats and extra large seat partitions offering the comfort and privacy normally reserved for First Class passengers on other airlines. The Economy Class seats are spaced at 86cm (34 inches) apart and Korean Air’s Prestige Class pitch is 188cm (74 inches).

The airline’s A380 will have a total of only 407 seats: 12 First Class and 301 Economy Class seats on the first level, and the 94 Prestige Class seats on the upper deck. It is the first airline to devote the entire A380 second level to the business flyer.

Korean Air has ordered ten A380 aircraft with the first five to be delivered by the end of 2011 and an additional five by 2014.

The introduction of the super jumbo aircraft is expected to increase passengers from China, Japan, and East Asia transferring to the US and Europe, accelerating Incheon International Airport's goal of becoming a global aviation hub.

About Korean Air

Korean Air, with a fleet of 131 aircraft, is one of the world's top 20 airlines, and operates almost 400 passenger flights per day to 114 cities in 39 countries. It is a founding member of the Sky Team alliance, together with its 13 members, which offers its 395 million annual passengers a worldwide system of more than 13,000 daily flights covering 898 destinations in 169 countries.

In 2010, Business Traveler named Korean Air the best Asian airline for the fourth consecutive year and best transpacific business class for the fifth straight year, while Global Traveler awarded the airline with best business class seat design and best airport staff/gate agent. The carrier won the 2010 global travel catering distinction award by Pax International magazine while World Traveler magazine rated it as having the world’s best inflight service. Travel & Leisure magazine readers say it is one of the world’s top 10 international airlines and readers of Conde Nast Traveler magazine voted Korean Air one of the world’s top ten global airlines.

More on Korean Air's programs, routes, frequency and partners is available at www.koreanair