Korean Air (KE, Seoul Incheon) launched scheduled passenger services with its two A220-300 aircraft on January 20. As the carrier intends to take delivery of four more B777-300(ER)s this year, it will likely retire its three remaining B747-400s in the coming months.
According to Flightradar24 ADS-B data, the Korean airline operated a maiden scheduled service with the new Bombardier Aerospace twinjet HL9082 (msn 55018) on January 20 on the route from Seoul Gimpo to Ulsan, while its sistership HL9083 (msn 55019) debuted shortly afterwards on the route out of the capital airport Gimpo to Pohang.
The CS300s are scheduled to operate out of Seoul Gimpo to Ulsan (22x weekly), Pohang (13x weekly), Jinju (8x weekly), Jeju (6x weekly), and Yeosu/Suncheon (1x weekly) for the week beginning on January 29.
Korean Air expects to take delivery of a further eight aircraft of the type in 2018. The incoming CS300s will be used to partially replace B737-800s, of which the airline currently operates fifteen.
According to Aviation News, the airline is also set to replace a number of wide-body jets this year as it plans to take delivery of four B787-9 in addition to the five aircraft of the type it already operates. Korean Air also expects to receive further four B777-300ERs this year, bringing the total number of these Boeing twinjets in its fleet up to twenty-four.
The incoming B777-300ERs will likely replace the last three B747-400s in Korean Air's fleet. According to the ch-aviation schedules module, these aircraft are currently deployed on routes out Seoul Incheon to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, Manila Ninoy Aquino International, Phuket, Sapporo Chitose, and Tokyo Narita but the last flights are currently tentatively scheduled for March 25.
