Korean Air Enhances Fleet with New Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner
Korean Air, a major international airline and member of the SkyTeam Alliance, has recently expanded its fleet with the addition of the Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner. This state-of-the-art aircraft, registered as HL8515, was delivered from Boeing’s manufacturing facility on July 19, 2024, and has passed all necessary entry into service checks and crew training. The inaugural commercial flight of this new aircraft is scheduled for August 1, 2024, serving the Seoul-Incheon Airport (ICN) to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) route.
The Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner is set to depart Seoul at 18:05 local time, taking approximately three hours and 45 minutes to reach Bangkok. It will then return to Seoul as part of its regular service schedule. Initially, Korean Air will operate the 787-10 on six of its 28 weekly flights between Seoul and Bangkok. However, from August 8, 2024, the frequency will increase to 12 weekly flights.
This aircraft substitution aims to meet the growing demand on this route, particularly from business travelers. The 787-10 offers a higher passenger capacity compared to the Airbus A330s currently used, thus enhancing the airline’s operational efficiency and customer service quality. Jong Min Kim, the Thailand Country Manager for Korean Air, emphasized the strategic importance of Thailand for the airline, citing substantial Korean business investments and the consequential rise in business travel demand.
Korean Air is not only committed to enhancing connectivity but is also focused on supporting Thailand’s economic and tourism sectors. With extensive global links, including 13 gateways in North America and 12 in Japan, Korean Air leverages its Seoul Incheon Terminal 2 hub to facilitate robust international travel networks.
In 2023, South Korean travelers formed about a third of all international arrivals in Thailand, with approximately 1.65 million visitors. Conversely, Thailand ranked as South Korea’s eighth largest source of international visitors in the early months of 2024, demonstrating the mutual importance of tourism and travel between the two nations.
The Boeing 787-10 is equipped with the latest in aviation technology and passenger comfort features. It can accommodate 325 passengers in a two-class configuration, which includes 289 seats in economy class and 36 in the newly launched business-class product, ‘Prestige Suites 2.0’. These business-class seats offer a fully-lie-flat experience with 46 inches of pitch and 21 inches of width, accompanied by a personal 4K monitor measuring 23.8 inches.
The economy class also promises enhanced comfort with seats offering a pitch of 32 inches and a width of 17.2 inches, alongside a 13.3-inch personal monitor. Powered by General Electric GEnx-1B74/75 engines, the 787-10 ensures reliable performance, similar to the airline’s existing fleet of 13 Boeing 787-9s. With a total of 19 more 787-10s on order, Korean Air plans to deploy these on heavier trunk routes across its network in Southeast Asia and beyond, indicating a significant enhancement in its operational capabilities and service offerings.