Airbus in Southern Korea. Korean Air is just one of the crucial A380 jetliner operators in Asia

Airbus and Southern Korea have already been strategic lovers for over 40 many years, going back to 1974 whenever Korean Air bought the original A300B4 widebody aircraft. Ever since then, the united states has grown to become a customer that is key when it comes to European manufacturer throughout the company’s commercial plane, defence, room and helicopter products.

Thriving professional partnerships between Airbus and several aerospace that is korean, along with extremely effective joint-development programs, likewise have set the conventional for cross-border collaboration attempts. These have introduced numerous direct advantages when it comes to Korean economy and offer the growth of the country’s developing aerospace business.

The connection between Airbus plus the nation began with Korean Air’s order in 1974 when it comes to A300B4, a landmark decision that made the provider the company’s very first non-European customer. Ever since then, air companies in Korea have actually purchased nearly 200 traveler plane over the company’s item range (at the time of September 2020). This consists of the A220 tiny single-aisle aircraft, the A320 Family, the versatile A330 widebody, this new A350 XWB and also the A380.

Korean Air has actually purchased 112 Airbus plane as a whole comprising 10 A220s, 30 through the A320 Family, 32 A300s, 30 A330s and 10 A380s.

The service became a customer that is a380 2003 and took distribution of the very very first plane last year. Korean Air’s popular A330s are run on its medium-range system within Asia and chosen longterm tracks to European countries.

The airline’s very first A220-300 registered into commercial solution in January 2018, rendering it the very first operator that is asian of new-generation aircraft. At the time of September 2020, the company had 10 A220-300s with its fleet. Inside a 2015 package, Korean Air bought 30 aircraft that is a321neo its domestic solutions and local roads.

The A350 XWB ended up being bought by Asiana Airlines to make the anchor of the mid-size wide-body fleet.

Asiana Airlines became an Airbus client in 1996, as well as its fleet comprises a lot more than 50 for the company’s plane over the single-aisle and widebody products.

The company purchased six A380s in January 2011 and obtained its very first plane in might 2014. Asiana even offers 15 A330s with its fleet.

In July 2008, the flight inked a deal that is major 30 A350 XWB plane to create the anchor of their future mid-size widebody fleet. Asiana got its very first A350-900 in April 2017, and has now obtained 11 regarding the kind at the time of September 2020.

The flight additionally had been fleet of 24 A320 Family aircraft. Another 28 A320 Family plane have reached Air Busan and seven at Air Seoul, both Asiana’s carrier that is low-cost. In November 2015, Asiana put a company purchase for 25 new-generation A321neo aircraft. The flight got its a321neo that is first in 2019.

In inclusion, an overall total of three A320ceo plane had already already already been sent to Aero K as of September 2020.

Airbus-built helicopters can be used for a broad array of missions in Southern Korea.

You can find over 50 Airbus helicopters in-service in the Korean army, civil and parapublic portions. Popular municipal designs like the light advanced single-engine H125, light twin-engine H135, together with flexible H225 are utilized on missions including search and relief, fire-fighting, energy and transportation that is corporate. The ROKAF additionally works Super Puma helicopters in a software application part.

The A330 MRTTs have now been purchased because of the Republic of Korea Air power for the service’s air-to-air refuelling and airlift demands.

Into the aircraft that is military, Southern Korea purchased the Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) in August 2015 inside a landmark offer which was the country’s very first major non-U.S. armed forces agreement. Four A330 MRTT on purchase had been sent to the Republic of Korea Air energy (ROKAF) in 2019 and also already been designated once the KC-330A by ROKAF. ROKAF additionally works CN235 for different missions that are tactical. Korean Coast-guard works the C212.

This new-generation system stretches the endurance and array of the ROKAF’s fighter plane, supplies the ongoing solution with strategic transportation capacity, and may be configured in a number of designs to hold people and cargo and for medical evacuation functions.

Airbus and Korea are also long-time lovers on room programs since 1995. In 2005, the organization worked aided by the Korean Aerospace and Research Institute (KARI) to create and create the country’s first multi-function satellite that is geostationaryGEO-Kompsat). More, the organization created the very first geo-stationary sea imager, and co-developed three world observance satellites in addition is a companion within the future Kompsat-6 Earth observance satellite and Satellite Based Augmentation program. Airbus additionally provides high quality satellite imagery solutions to different Korean operators.

Industrial partnerships

Korea is also an essential manufacturing base for Airbus, that has powerful partnerships with KAI and Korean Air Aerospace Division (KAL-ASD) – both Tier 1 companies for Airbus civil aircraft programmes – in addition to many little and moderate businesses (SME) in the nation.

KAL-ASD, an Airbus provider since 1989, supplies the Airbus-designed fuel-saving ‘Sharklet’ wingtip devices when it comes to A320neo and A330neo programmes. In addition it creates fuselage epidermis panels fetlife and flooring assemblies regarding the A330, plus the A350 XWB’s composite cargo doorways.

From the services in Sacheon, KAI creates fuselage shells and wing panel that is top for A320 Family, wing base panels for the A380, wing machined ribs and stringers for the A330, as well as the A350 XWB’s aluminium-lithium wing machined ribs and nostrils landing equipment bay and doorways.

Korean SMEs reap the benefits of work bundles under sub-contracts from Airbus vendors. Soosung Airframe Company, for instance, does the A321 fuselage layer work and SAMCO manufactures the leading-edge epidermis when it comes to Sharklet therefore the A350 XWB volume cargo home. Other Tier 2 vendors consist of Forex, Hizeaero, and Yulkok Engineering business. In October 2016, AeroSpace tech of Korea (ASTK) won a contract to create A320neo lover cowl home machined components – its very very first direct contract with Airbus.

In 2006, Airbus started working together with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) from the utility that is korean (KUH) programme. In line with the H225 helicopter, the very first 8.7-tonne Surion had been delivered on price, on some time on specification towards the army that is korean December 2012.

To time, a lot more than 100 Surion helicopters have now been brought to the army that is korean the country’s parapublic operators.

Building with this success, Airbus and KAI started focusing on the in-development Light Civil Helicopter/Light Armed Helicopter (LCH/LAH) programme in 2015. The LAH model finished its maiden journey in July 2019 and objectives to enter solution when it comes to army that is korean 2023.