Korean Air Touts New A380 Airbus

What has 4,400 square meters of surface area, the ability to travel 8,300 nautical miles, and makes business class travelers giddy with delight? The A380 airbus of course! And this month, it made its Korean Air debut, flying the transpacific New York City – Seoul route. The event was widely reported and with good reason; currently there are only 53 A380 Airbuses in operation anywhere on the globe.

The plane is the epitome of luxury, offering a three-class configuration with a generous amount of space, “50 per cent more floor surface than any other high-capacity aircraft,” according to the Airbus website. Korean Air’s configuration allows for 301 economy class passengers, 94 lie-flat upper-deck business class seats (each spaced six feet apart) and 12 upper-deck first class suites. The aircraft also touts three premium passenger bars – a cocktail lounge, a self-service bar, and a reserved first-class bar.

But, it doesn’t stop there! In what the airline has dubbed a “new age in air travel,” passengers can also visit the world’s first in-flight duty free outlet on board. Featuring cosmetics, perfumes, accessories and liquor, the compact store uses magnetized product placement to ensure that everything stays put during travel.

Korean Air will run the same NYC-Seoul route every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday through the month of August, before progressing to daily service in September. Though the airline is certainly a groundbreaker in its industry, its main competitor, Asiana Airlines, isn’t far behind. AA ordered six of its own A380’s in January and plans to utilize them for routes to both the US and Europe. Business class travel is continuously looking up!