Korean Air Scrapped First Class on a Number of Services

Korean Air has said that it’s reducing or removing its first class service from many of its wide-body aircraft. The airline ceased to offer this service on 27 of its international routes this month but still offers it on 40 other services. The move is part of a drive for efficiency at the airline.

In a move that it hopes will simplify its operations, Korean Air has said that it will be reducing and even removing first class service on its wide-body aircraft, The Blue Swan Daily reports.

According to information gleaned from the Centre for Aviation Fleet Database, the outlet reports that “The South Korean flag carrier has a first class cabin on all 103 of its wide-body aircraft. Only Emirates Airline and British Airways have more aircraft with first class cabins.”

The latter two carriers have 218 and 105 first class seats, respectively.

The carrier ceased to offer a first class service on 27 of its international routes as of this month, all of which were formerly offered on its wide-body aircraft. However, the airline will keep selling these first class fares on 40 additional international services.

While first class will still be available on all ten of its U.S. routes, it has been axed on a number of services between Seoul and Australia, New Zealand and Europe.

This elimination of first-class seats will be completed on the airline’s Airbus A330s, Boeing 878s and some of its 777s as part of a wider retrofitting initiative and modernization program. Korean is also reportedly looking at taking away first class seats from A380s, 747-8S and 777-300ERS, a move that “would result in the airline not offering first class on any flights.”

Speaking about this removal of first class on many of its planes, CEO Walter Cho explained at a media briefing that it will enable the airline to improve its efficiency and offer its passengers “a simplification of service.”

[Featured Image: Korean Air]