Summary
- Korean Air’s tenth A321-200NX and the primary produced on the Airbus FAL in Toulouse, France.
- The aircraft, registered as F-WWAG for testing, will change into HL8557 within the Republic of Korea.
- Korean Air awaits 40 more A321neo planes by 2030 so as to add to their 162-strong wholly-owned fleet.
On March 12, a brand-new Korean Air A321neo took to the skies for its maiden flight. Often, it wouldn’t make the news, but that is the airline’s first-ever A321neo produced on the Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Toulouse, France.
The aircraft
The Airbus is an element of Korean Air’s order in 2015 for 30 A321neo aircraft. Airbus delivered the airline’s first A321neo seven years later, in October 2022. Korean Air promptly deployed it on short and medium-haul East and Southeast Asia flights.
The contract had an option for an extra 20 aircraft, which Korean Air triggered last yr. The airline was greater than pleased with the utility and efficiency of the aircraft and expects the manufacturer to clear the backlog by 2030.
Currently registered as F-WWAG for testing, the aircraft might be registered within the Republic of Korea as HL8557. Based on ch-aviation, it should be the tenth A321-200NX in Korean Air’s fleet. It has the identical configuration as the opposite nine aircraft, with 4 Prestige Class lie-flat Collins Aerospace Diamond Parallel seats and 174 slimline economy class seats.
![Korean Air Airbus A321neo](https://static1.simpleflyingimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/korean-air-airbus-a321neo.jpeg)
Korean Air Places Order For 20 More Airbus A321neos
Korean Air ordered more Airbus A321neo aircraft, taking its order book of the kind to 50.
The assembly line
The FAL in Toulouse was where Airbus produced the A380. It was repurposed to provide A321neo aircraft. The primary A321neo rolled off the Toulouse production line in November last yr.
The manufacturer expects the FAL to extend production of A320neo family aircraft to 75 a month by 2026. Based on Airbus, the backlog for the narrowbody stood at 8,598 aircraft at the tip of 2023.
Photo: Airbus
![First A321neo from Toulouse FAL](https://static1.simpleflyingimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/first-a321neo-from-toulouse-fal.jpeg)
Airbus Unveils First A321neo Assembled At Ex-A380 Site
Airbus rolled out the primary aircraft out of the brand new A321neo FAL at Toulouse, which replaced the assembly line of the Airbus A380.
Korean Air fleet
Based on ch-aviation, Korean Air expects one other 40 A321neo aircraft by 2030, which might be A321-200N models.
Korean Air currently operates a mixed fleet of each Airbus and Boeing aircraft. The airline’s fleet currently consists of 162 aircraft, all of that are wholly owned by the airline. 23 of those aircraft are utilized by the airline’s cargo division.
Photo: Korean Air
Here’s a breakdown of the fleet:
Aircraft Type | Energetic | Inactive | Total | Backlog | Average Age |
A220-300 | 8 | 2 | 10 | – | 5.9 |
A321-200N | – | – | – | 40 | – |
A321-200NX | 9 | – | 9 | 1 | 0.8 |
A330-200 | 5 | – | 5 | – | 12.9 |
A330-300 | 17 | 4 | 21 | – | 19.7 |
A380-800 | 4 | 6 | 10 | – | 11.9 |
B737-700(BBJ) | 1 | – | 1 | – | 14.6 |
B737-8 | 5 | – | 5 | 22 | 4.6 |
B737-800 | 2 | – | 2 | – | 12.4 |
B737-900 | 10 | – | 10 | – | 20.5 |
B737-900ER | 6 | – | 6 | – | 11.8 |
B747-400ERF | 3 | 1 | 4 | – | 18.5 |
B747-8 | 9 | – | – | – | 8.0 |
B747-8F | 6 | 1 | 7 | – | 10.5 |
B777-200ER | 4 | 4 | 8 | – | 18.8 |
B777-200F | 12 | – | 12 | – | 8.9 |
B777-300 | 4 | – | 4 | – | 24.8 |
B777-300ER | 25 | – | 25 | – | 9.8 |
B787-10 | – | – | – | 20 | – |
B787-8(BBJ) | 1 | – | 1 | – | 9.1 |
B787-9 | 13 | – | 13 | 7 | 5.2 |
Total | 144 | 18 | 162 | 90 | 12.0 |