Korean Air Has A Boeing 777 Problem

Korean Air, which has been moving ahead with an overhaul of its operations, now has a Boeing 777 problem.

The South Korean company had previously unveiled its intention to invest over 200 million dollars into the retrofit of its Boeing 777 aircraft.

This planned endeavour was intended to install all-new interiors, including Premium Economy seats, in an effort to bring the aircraft up to the standards of incoming jets.

The program was to see the installation of up to 40 Premium Economy seats across 11 of the Boeing 777 fleet, specifically the -300 model.

Available fleet data shows that Korean Air has 31 Boeing 777s to its name, four of which are the 777 300 while the remaining are the 777-300ER, the extended range model.

The average age of these 777s also varies greatly depending on their variant, with the 777-300 fleet averaging 27.3 years and being the oldest in the company, and the 777-300ER coming in at just 11.3 years.

While this process has commenced, it is now encountering problems thanks to reporting by Aero Telegraph, which says that Korean Air is facing new obstacles with the program.

Korean Air Faces Backlash

Aero Telegraph says that regulators are pushing back at the work with a change of heart from the Korea Fair Trade Commission, stating that such an installation would cause a violation of the terms of a planned takeover of Asiana Airlines.

There have been many regulations imposed by regulators around the world to see this mega deal go ahead. As a result, many changes have needed to be made by Korean Air to get the takeover over the line.

Involving the regulatory matters concerning this, the feeling is that through the addition of Premium Economy seating, naturally, there’ll be associated increases in ticket prices.

While bad for customers, this technically would be fine in any other instance, but in a situation where Korean Air is being forced to comply with regulatory measures as part of a merger deal that firmly said ticket prices should not increase further.

Plans to overhaul the Boeing 777 fleet have been shelved, and therefore, the future of the aircraft in the airline’s operations is uncertain as it continues to transition towards newer equipment.

Ultimately, as Korean Air continues to work towards streamlining, integrating Asiana Airlines and more, this conundrum with the 777 is one of the many roadblocks that will need to be worked through.