South Korea’s Asiana Airlines has upgraded the standard Airbus A350 utilized on services between Seoul (ICN) and Frankfurt (FRA) in favor of its Airbus A380s.
Return of the double-decker
The return of the A380 to Asiana Airlines’ Germany-bound route on Wednesday marks the primary time the carrier’s double-decker quad-jets have touched down in Frankfurt for over three years. Asiana Airlines’ 9-year-old A380 (HL7626) had the consideration of performing re-inaugural flight, operating as flight number OZ541.
Though exciting for local aviation enthusiasts hoping to catch a glimpse or hitch a ride on the increasingly rare aircraft, the airline is predicted only to operate the aircraft temporarily, running on twelve select dates in July through to August 6; July 12, 14, 16, 19, 21, 23, 26, 28, 30, and August 2, 4, and 6.
Photo: Vytautas Kielaitis I Shutterstock.
The Seoul-Frankfurt leg of the journey, OZ541, is scheduled to depart Korea at 09:40 KST, touching down at 16:30 CEST, before returning to Seoul at 18:40 CEST as OZ542.
Asiana Airlines has already ruled out A380 services at Frankfurt this winter, removing the jet from its schedule in May in favor of the smaller A350, though it looks primed to return for the summer 2024 season.
Nevertheless, the 495-seat quad jets is not going to be sitting idle, as an alternative being reassigned to the carrier’s Oceania operations. In accordance with Cirium and OAG data compiled by Easy Flying, Asiana Airlines’ A380 shall be heading to Sydney (SYD) from August 8 until March 2024. Services shall be operated as OZ601 for Seoul – Sydney and OZ602 for Sydney – Seoul on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, joint-served by Asiana Airlines’ A350-900 and Boeing 777-200ERs.
What’s next for Asiana?
With Korean Air and Asiana Airlines’ proposed merger stalled at regulatory hurdles in Europe and america, the Korean carrier is propelling ahead with its day-to-day operations. While the airline took a loss in the primary quarter, owed partially to a weakened won and skyrocketing costs, operating profit remained strong, with international and domestic travel continuing to grow consistently.
Photo: Airbus
Services are set to regulate barely through the winter season, with popular tourist destination Paris (CDG) to be upgraded to 6 times per week, on the expense of Barcelona (BCN), which can decrease from three to 2 weekly flights through the quieter off-season. Asiana Airlines also appears set to utilize its A350 widebodies on the routes, replacing its aging and fewer efficient 777s – based on Aviation Source News, the jet may even be assigned to the carrier’s Seoul – Istanbul (IST) service, providing its customers with a refreshed cabin and improved travel experience.
Earlier this month, the carrier put a pause on its Chinese operations amid rocky diplomatic relations, suspending services between Gimpo (GMP) and Beijing (PEK), Seoul and Shenzen (SZX), and Seoul and Xian (XIY). As reported by Yonhap, flights will resume on October 28.
Have you ever flown on one in every of Asiana Airlines’ Airbus A380s? What was your experience? Tell us within the comments.