Korean Air Starts Airbus A350-900 Service

As of 27 January, Korean Air starts Airbus A350-900 service.

The inaugural flight of KE’s newest aircraft type connected Seoul Incheon (ICN) to Osaka Kansai (KIX). Indeed, with Japan being a rapidly growing center of inbound tourism, it was no surprise that Korean Air opted for a short-haul across the Sea of Japan. (the second link opens a .pdf)

The reason I highlighted the phrase short-haul is because I was aboard a United Boeing 787-800 in its first few weeks of TPAC (Transpacific) service. That was a big whoops, because it had to make an emergency landing. Fortunately, it ended up landing Seattle, so that was convenient….

If you’re wondering what the specs are as Korean Air starts Airbus A350-900 service, here goes:

Plane length: ~219 feet (~67 meters)
Width: ~212 feet (~65 meters)
Height: ~56 feet (~17 meters)
Top cruising speed: ~564 miles/hour (~907 kilometers/hour)
Range: ~7629 miles (~12,277 kilometers)

In total, there are 311 seats. 283 take up economy class, and 28 are used for Prestige class, i.e. Korean Air nomenclature for business class.

Back in April 2024, Korean Air placed an order for six Airbus A350-900s, and 27 Airbus A350-1000s. The individual range of these two aircraft easily covers all existing KE routes.