Korea's Asiana Airlines to resume A380 ops from late 1Q22

As travel demand slowly picks up, Asiana Airlines (OZ, Seoul Incheon) will join the ranks of airlines reactivating their A380-800s when it deploys the type on two routes out of Seoul Incheon starting on March 27, 2022.

The ch-aviation schedules module indicates the South Korean carrier plans to use the A380 to operate one of its two daily rotations to Los Angeles Int'l (the other one will continue to be served with A350-900s) and its daily rotation to Frankfurt Int'l (currently also served with an A350-900).

Asiana Airlines operates six A380-800s, which have remained grounded since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.Four are owned while the other two are leased from Minsheng Financial Leasing, the ch-aviation fleets ownership module indicates. The aircraft are 6.8 years old on average.

Walter Cho, the chief executive of Korean Air (KE, Seoul Incheon), which is in the process of absorbing its rival, previously said the merged carrier's A380s (including ten in Korean Air's fleet) would be retired within five years, i.e. by the end of 2026.

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Photo:Duncan Stewart - LAX