Korean Air (KE, Seoul Incheon) is preparing for an "imminent" announcement of a widebody order, CEO Walter Cho said during a press briefing at the recently ended IATA AGM in Seoul.
In 2018, the carrier said it was evaluating adding more B787s or ordering its first A350s. Cho did not elaborate on the potential order, its size, make-up, or exact timeline.
According to the ch-aviation fleets module, the Korean carrier's widebody fleet currently includes eight A330-200s, twenty-one A330-300s, ten A380-800s, two B747-400s, ten B747-8s, fourteen B777-200(ER)s, four B777-300s, twenty-five B777-300(ER)s, and ten B787-9s. It also has a further two B777-300(ER)s on order from Boeing.
Cho also said that he believed that the carrier's fleet of ten A220-300s was too small. He hinted that Korean Air may be interested in ordering more of the Airbus regional jets but only once "some glitches" were fixed. The airline could also become a customer for the yet-to-be-announced stretched version of the A220, the so-called "A220-500".
Korean Air is also standing by its commitment to take thirty B737-8s despite the ongoing grounding of the type. It was due to start taking deliveries of the aircraft in May this year.
