The 49th double-decker Airbus A380 airliner has taken to the sky in Korean Air livery – bringing long-haul travel to new heights of luxury.
The giant aircraft's entire upper deck has been configured as business-class accommodation with 94 lie-flat seats. The aircraft has just 407 seats in total, far fewer than the 555 standard seating on an A380. Korean Air chairman Yang Ho Cho said this made it "the most special A380 so far" as it was handed over to Seoul-based Korean Air during a ceremony at Airbus's headquarters in Toulouse.
The A380 is a major part of Bristol's aerospace success story. The massive plane's wings, landing gear and fuel system were designed by Airbus engineers at Filton, while GKN Aerospace now builds wing sections for all A380s on the same site.
Mid-East airline Emirates remains the largest A380 operator with 15, followed by Singapore Airlines with 11 and Qantas with 10. The other two operators, Lufthansa and Air France, have seven and five respectively.
Korean Air has ordered 10 A380s and plans to fly the type initially on services within Asia but expanding to North America as the fleet enlarges. Rival Korean carrier Asiana Airlines has also ordered six A380s.
