Korean Air Skypass - KE adds 14 new planes in 2012

According to various sources, KE plans to add 14 aircrafts this year and retire 13. To be specific, number of cargo planes will increase by 3, while passenger fleet will decrease by 2.

+1 380 (total 6)
+1 77W (total 10)
+6 738
+2 739ER
+2 748F
+2 772F

Some of these (1 748F, 1 772F, and some 738) are already delivered. 1 747F will be returned this year, and 12 passenger fleets should go. I guess some (or all) of 7 A300 will retire and some of 738 will be swapped to Jin air. Some of 747 might be converted to cargo. Already 6 738s were moved to Jin air. Jin air currently has 7 738s and only 1 were adopted from somewhere else.

Interesting part is, with handful 380s and 77Ws, KE is slowly removing 747 from long-hauls. And from late March, 4 747s will be deployed at GMP (currently 2), and they will run for all international flights from GMP (3xHND, 2xKIX, 1xPEK, 1xSHA, per day). A300 is also slowly disappearing from KE's domestic schedule, and by October 2012, it will need only 4 (or less) A300. GMP-Jeju is going to be covered more and more by 739.

In the meantime, 7/w GMP-TSA is granted to LCCs - 4/w to T-way and 3/w to Eastar. Disappointing news to KE and OZ.

A little correction: KE retires A300-600 at the end of June. There's no official announcement yet, but KE website doesn't show any more AB6 schedule from July 1st. KE currently has 7 of them, which were produced between 1991 and 1994.

Well, this is end of an era. KE began to operate A300 from 1975, and according to wikipedia, KE was the first non-European Airbus customer with this. Well, there must be some political history behind the deal. It seems KE was the second A300 operator next to Air France who got it in 1974. Planespotters.net lists 40 A300 fleets that KE had, but I'm not sure how many KE used to have at most.

739 is replacing AB6, and there will be some schedule change/equip downgrade due to this.