According to Ludovic Froidure, Director of France at Korean Air, the Airbus A380 has played a major role in boosting Korean Air's appeal in France. "Very quickly, it was decided that the A380 in service since March 2014 on this route would be in permanent rotation on Seoul-Paris. It's true that this aircraft acts like a real magnet for the public. On the one hand because of the aura of the A380, and on the other hand because of the exceptional comfort we offer", explains Ludovic Froidure.
The aircraft offers just 407 seats, a density far removed from that normally offered by the Airbus A380s of other Asian airlines: 471 seats for the three-class configuration on Singapore Airlines, for example, or 507 seats on Thai Airways International. "This explains why we deliberately decided not to offer a premium economy class. Our management believes that our Economy Class product, with its low density, is equivalent to Premium Economy 'less' or Economy Class 'more'. For example, all our seats are equipped with an electrical socket", adds Korean Air's Director for France. As for business class, it offers some of the best standards in the industry.
A new "Prestige Suite" is being installed with a 2.20m lie-flat seat and a seat width increased from 53 to 57cm. Promotional business fares will also be launched in June by Korean Air in France to encourage more passengers to try the Prestige Class product. Future developments include the reconfiguration of long-haul First Class, which was announced to the public very recently. Details will be revealed before the end of the year.
With a positioning of excellence, an ideal network of connections to Asia - in particular with 23 routes to China and 17 cities served in Japan - and Seoul-Incheon airport reputed to be one of the best in Asia, Korean Air has successfully positioned itself on the European market. The airline is strengthening its position in Europe this summer, with an additional weekly flight to Amsterdam (5 frequencies/week), Vienna (4 frequencies/week), a daily frequency to Italy with Rome and Milan and the introduction of the new Boeing 747-800 on a daily basis to London Heathrow.
The airline also offers charter flights for Koreans to Europe. Zagreb, Oslo and Marseille are on the programme, but in the short term there is no question of transforming Seoul-Marseille into a regular route. "Paris serves as a connecting hub for the whole of Europe and the Mediterranean basin. So we have code share flights to Marseille and Nice, for example, with our partner Air France", explains Ludovic Froidure.
In Asia, the airline has just added four new routes to China, including Nanning and Hefei. Korean Air has also just signed a code share agreement with its low-cost subsidiary Jin Air. This will enable it to extend its network at lower cost to new destinations such as Nagasaki, Okinawa, Macau, Guam as well as Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia and Vientiane in Laos.
