Korean Air (KE, Seoul Incheon) has announced plans to acquire up to 100 A321neo and B737 MAX aircraft from Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) and Boeing (BOE, Washington National) respectively.
Announced during the ongoing Paris Air Show 2015 at Paris Le Bourget, the South Korean carrier says it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Europeans for up to fifty A321neo aircraft including thirty firm orders and twenty options. Korean Air will operate the A321neo with a two class full service layout on regional services, including on longer sectors to selected destinations in South East Asia.
On the same day, the carrier also announced plans to acquire up to fifty B737 MAX jets - again thirty firm orders with twenty options - from the US manufacturer. The announcement also included a firm order for two more B777-300(ER)s.
Korean Air operates 152 aircraft including one B737-700, sixteen B737-800s, six B737-900(ER)s, and fourteen B777-300(ER)s. It currently operates no Airbus narrowbody aircraft.
