Korean Air A380 & 747-8 Retirement Plans: They’re Sticking Around!

Many of us aviation enthusiasts are big fans of the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747, given that these planes are no longer in production, and won’t be in passenger service for that much longer. Korean Air is one of two airlines in the world to operate both of these jets (the other is Lufthansa).

Up until recently, the carrier’s plan was to retire Airbus A380s by 2026, and retire Boeing 747s by 2031. However, with the carrier’s takeover of Asiana, plus general delays with new aircraft deliveries, it seems like the planes may have a bit more life left in them. Let’s take a look at the latest.

Korean Air Airbus A380s won’t retire anytime soon

In 2021, Korean Air announced plans to retire its Airbus A380 fleet within five years, which would’ve meant the planes would be retired by 2026. However, that’s no longer the plan. Korean Air is now sending its A380s in for heavy maintenance, and the airline is considering flying these aircraft well into the 2030s.

That being said, Korean Air has already shrunk its A380 fleet, though at the same time, is picking up some additional ones through its acquisition of Asiana. For context:

• Korean Air has a fleet of seven Airbus A380s, which are an average of 12 years old; the airline initially had 10, but three have already been retired
• Asiana has a fleet of six Airbus A380s, which are an average of around 10 years old

So we could eventually see Korean Air flying up to 13 Airbus A380s. However, it’s worth noting that currently only four of Korean Air’s seven A380s are flying, so who actually knows. One would certainly think that there would be continued demand for the A380 on routes from Seoul Incheon to Los Angeles, New York, etc.

I’m also curious to see what exactly Korean Air has planned for Asiana’s A380s. Asiana’s A380s have a first class cabin, but for several years now, these have simply been sold as business class suites. Ironically, Asiana’s A380 business class suite hard product is better than Korean Air’s A380 first class hard product. So will this product again be sold as first class, or…?

Korean Air Boeing 747-8s also sticking around for now

The Boeing 747 will always be the queen of the skies (well, as long as there are any of them flying), and Korean Air is one of only three passenger airlines (along with Air China and Lufthansa) to fly the latest generation of the plane, which is the Boeing 747-8.

In 2021, Korean Air announced that it intends to retire its Boeing 747-8s within 10 years, which would put us into the early 2030s. As you can see, the initial plan was for the Boeing 747-8 to outlive the Airbus A380, and become the carrier’s flagship aircraft. However, with the A380 also sticking around, it seems they might be retired around the same time.

Korean Air initially had a fleet of nine Boeing 747-8s, which the carrier took delivery of between 2012 and 2017. That’s in addition to a plane that’s leased to the Republic of Korea Air Force for VIP transport, and then six cargo Boeing 747-8s.

However, Korean Air has sold five of its Boeing 747-8s (they’ll become “doomsday planes”), meaning the fleet will consist of just four of these aircraft. One wonders if there’s merit to keeping around such a small subfleet, especially since you typically want to have a spare aircraft on hand. I can’t help but think that the A380 might stick around longer than the 747-8, at this point.

Bottom line

Korean Air plans to keep around its Airbus A380 and Boeing 747-8 fleet a bit longer than planned, due to a combination of strong demand and delivery delays with new aircraft.

While the A380 fleet was supposed to be retired by 2026, it looks like it’ll now stick around through the early 2030s, based on the planes going through heavy maintenance. Meanwhile the 747-8s also aren’t going anywhere, though it’ll be a very small fleet, with just four jets. That’s because five of the nine aircraft have been sold, so are exiting the fleet.

What do you make of Korean Air’s quad jet plans?