Korean Air Plans New First Class, Realizes It’s Not Competitive

Korean Air has today unveiled its first major rebranding in decades, including a new livery. That’s not the end of the news, though, as the airline has also revealed plans to introduce a new first class, which will even have an expanded footprint.

New Korean Air first class suites coming in 2028

Executive Traveller reports on some comments made by David Pacey, Korean Air’s EVP of Inflight Service and Lounges. Most interesting is that Korean Air plans to introduce a new first class product as of 2028. While Korean Air currently offers first class, it’s only available on a very limited number of aircraft, and its footprint has been shrinking over the years.

Several years back, Korean Air reduced the size of its first class fleet, but the airline now seems to be reversing that trend. The airline reportedly plans to introduce this new first class on select Airbus A350s, Boeing 777s, and Boeing 787s, as the airline has a massive number of planes on order. We’ll have to be patient to learn the exact details as to how big this product’s footprint will be.

What’s interesting is that Korean Air sees potential to expand first class beyond the markets in which it’s offered now, as currently it’s primarily only sold on select flights to North America and Europe. The airline sees merit to once again selling first class on routes within Asia, to the South Pacific, etc.

There are no details yet as to what we should expect from Korean Air’s first class, other than that the SkyTeam airline is partnering with design firm PriestmanGoode on this. I can’t help but be curious if Korean Air will actually introduce an impressive first class, or if the airline will go more the route of having a “business class plus” type product, that’s marketed as first class.

Korean Air’s new business class product, the Prestige Suite 2.0, is the the Collins Aerospace Horizon seat. I could see Korean Air simply taking advantage of the extra space at the bulkhead to create a watered down first class, like what you’ll find on Starlux Airlines’ A350s. But I hope I’m wrong, and that the airline actually goes for something impressive.

Korean Air realizes it needs to improve in first class

Recently I reviewed Korean Air first class, and was pretty critical of the experience being offered, in terms of both the hard and soft product. The competition has evolved, and it seems like Korean Air hasn’t.

Some readers pointed out that Korean Air is primarily targeting Korean travelers, where the airline doesn’t have to be as competitive (due to lack of competition), and where different cultural normals dictate a different approach to service (reactive vs. proactive).

So that’s why I think it’s interesting to note what Executive Traveller quotes a Korean Air executive as saying:

“The chairman’s mandate to us is we need to elevate everything that we do. We know we’re behind and that’s something we need to work on.”

Specifically, the mission is “to go from being a Korean flagship carrier to an international carrier based in Korea,” as the carrier’s passenger demographics have shifted over the years. Historically, Korean Air first class passengers were overwhelmingly Korean males in their 40s, while now it’s almost a 50/50 split of Koreans and non-Koreans, males an females, and there are also younger passengers.

Obviously this is music to my ears, so I look forward to seeing how Korean Air evolves.

Bottom line

Korean Air reportedly has plans to introduce a new first class in 2028, and it’ll have a significantly expanded footprint, available on select A350s, 777s, and 787s. I’m pleasantly surprised to see that Korean Air is committed to keeping first class in the long run, since I wondered if the airline might ditch this, and focus on business class.

I’m particularly happy to see that Korean Air also realizes that it’s not currently very competitive, and that there’s big room for improvement, especially when it comes to the perception of international travelers. I’m curious to see how this all plays out, though we’ll have to be patient…

What do you make of Korean Air’s first class plans?