FLEET - Korean Air to take first B787-10 in mid-2Q24, sells B747-8s

Korean Air (KE, Seoul Incheon) will take delivery of the first of ten B787-10s supplied by Air Lease Corporation (ALC) later this month. The lessor's CEO, John L Plueger, confirmed the upcoming deliveries in a May 8 earnings call.

Korean Air has 20 of the type on order among a larger portfolio of seven B787-9s, twenty-two B737-8s, thirty-nine A321-200Ns, one A321-200NX, twenty-seven A350-1000s, and six A350-900s. The Korean Air deliveries are part of a broader portfolio of aircraft that ALC expects to deliver to customers around Asia this year and next. The lessor says the region remains a global hotspot for aircraft demand amid double-digit passenger growth in many markets there.

Meanwhile, Korean Air has sold five B747-8s to US aerospace firm Sierra Nevada Corporation. The airline disclosed the KRW918.3 billion won (USD672 million) transaction in a May 8 regulatory filing. The airline said the sale was part of its mid- to long-term fleet renewal and disposal plan. The sale is scheduled to be completed in September 2025. The filing did not disclose the specific aircraft sold. However, Reuters cited a source familiar with the matter saying they were B747-8s. Korean Air operates nine of the type, with two currently inactive.

Sierra Nevada recently secured a USD13 billion United States Air Force contract for the Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC) programme to develop a successor to the E-4B. The new aircraft is expected to start flying in 2036.