Published: 25/05/2011 at 12:00 AM
Korean Air is becoming the second airline to serve Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport with the Airbus' A380 superjumbo.
Korean Air expects to put the Airbus A380 superjumbo into service at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, making it the second airline after Emirates to use the model.
The scheduled start in July of Korean Air's A380 service to Bangkok would come two years after Emirates began flying the A380 to Thailand in mid-2009.
Bangkok will be the third port of call for Korean Air's A380s, which are due to start maiden flights from Incheon International Airport near Seoul to Tokyo's Narita and Hong Kong international airports next month.
In a later stage, the airline will introduce A380 non-stop long-haul services from Seoul to North America and Europe.
The Korean flag carrier yesterday took delivery of its first double-decker jet from Airbus's Toulouse plant in France.
Korean Air is acquiring a total of 10 A380s; the first five are to be delivered by the end of 2011, with the additional five received by 2014.
According to Korean Air's Bangkok office, the A380 will be used for one of its twice-daily services between Bangkok and Seoul.
The A380 will be deployed on departing flight KE 652 at 10.40 pm, while the later flight KE 654 at 11.45 pm will be operated either by a Boeing B777 or Airbus A330.
Korean Air does not plan to impose a surcharge over normal fare to take advantage of the novelty of the world's large commercial aircraft, they said.
Korean Air is configuring its A380s with an all-premium upper deck that accommodates 94 180-degree full-flat sleeper business-class seats, while the lower deck is outfitted with 12 ultra-luxurious first-class suites and 301 economy-class seats.
The deployment of the A380 on the Bangkok route is meant to provide additional capacity to meet the growing demand on the city-pair.
"In terms of total seat count, the numbers do not increase significantly due to the deployment of A380, but the real increase is in the numbers on the premium seats which the superjumbo will offer," an executive of Korean Air's Bangkok office pointed out.
Thai Airways International is next in line to start A380 service through Bangkok.
THAI is due to receive the first three A380-800s in 2012 and another three in 2013. All will operate from Suvarnabhumi.
Credit: Bangkok Post (www.bangkokpost.com)
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