Korean Air has received its first A321neo and it comes with fully lie-flat seats in business class.
The airline recently received its first A321neo from Airbus and plans to start flights in December, mostly on short-haul routes, including Southeast Asia, China and Japan.
Korean Air is the first airline in Asia to take delivery of an A321neo with the complete Airspace cabin. This features new lighting and ambiance systems, larger overhead bins and full connectivity throughout, giving passengers the highest levels of in-flight comfort. The Airspace cabin also offers hygienic space and antimicrobial surfaces in all lavatories.
The airline’s first A320 Family aircraft has 182 seats in 2 classes:
- 8 in Prestige in 2 rows in a 2 x 2 layout
- 178 in economy with a typical 3 x 3 layout
Soo Keun Lee, Executive Vice President and Chief Safety & Operation Officer of Korean Air:
“We are delighted to receive our first A321neo, which will be a great asset to our fleet, network and passengers. This fuel-efficient, next-generation A321neo will bring our customers’ experience to a new level with the award-winning Airspace cabin and fully lie-flat business class seats.”
Prestige Class
Korean Air’s A321neo has a pretty fancy business class. It’s only got 8 seats – 2 rows of 4 seats – but they are fully lie-flat seats.
The idea behind this is to provide seamless comfort to passengers, who are combining long-haul flights on the Americas and Europe routes, and short-haul flights on Southeast Asia, China and Japan routes.
The seats have a 44-cm personal monitor for audio/video on demand services along with a wireless smartphone charger.
Economy
In the economy class, passengers can enjoy inflight entertainment on a 33-cm personal monitor, which is the largest in the airline’s narrowbody fleet. An adjustable headrest and individual coat hook are also installed for each seat.
Airspace cabin
Korean Air is the first Asian airline to feature Airbus’ Airspace cabin on an A321neo.
The airline’s Airspace elevates passenger comfort, cabin ambience and inflight services to the next level. Its unique and customizable lighting system sets the right ambience throughout all phases of flight, such as when welcoming passengers aboard, serving inflight meals and cruising.
In addition, the window shades provide a wider view, and the toilet is equipped with bright lighting and antibacterial coating, highlighting the airline’s commitment to the highest levels of cleanliness and virus protection.
The overhead bins, which are 40 percent larger than other A321neos, provide passengers with more space to store carry-on baggage.
Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Airbus International:
“By adding the A321neo to its fleet, Korean Air will benefit from enhanced operational efficiency and the highest levels of in-flight comfort.
“With the A321neo’s per-seat fuel improvements of at least 25% compared with Korean Air’s previous generation same-sized fleet, the airline will reduce its operating costs significantly, as well as emissions at the same time.”
Inflight internet from the first half of 2023
Inflight internet will be available for purchase on the A321neo from the first half of next year. Starting from the A321neo, the airline will expand internet services to newly-introduced aircraft.
Fleet Modernisation
Introducing the A321neo is part of the airline’s fleet modernisation plans. The airline expects to receive a total of 30 Airbus 321neo aircraft by 2027.
N.B. Image credits: Korean Air
