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South Korea‘s biggest carrier, Korean Air, plans to buy around 20 A350 wide-body jets from Airbus, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, as it gears up for a pending merger with Asiana Airlines .
Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg said the agreement could be announced as soon as this week, although the deal isn’t final and depends on the outcome of a March 21 board meeting.
Korean Air operates a mixed fleet of Boeing and Airbus wide- and narrow-body aircraft.
Korean Air CEO Walter Cho said in February in an interview with airline industry body IATA the carrier will need to simplify its fleet after the merger as it will have almost every aircraft and engine type available.
Korean Air has obtained a green light from competition authorities in 13 of 14 jurisdictions for the purchase of nearly two-thirds of Asiana for about USD 1.4 billion. It is awaiting a US decision to finalise the merger, which Cho said he is confident will be completed by the end of the year.
A Korean Air spokesperson on Monday said the company was unable to comment on this specific topic at this point in time.
Earlier this month, Qatar’s national carrier said its entire fleet of A350 jets were back into service, more than a year after settling a legal dispute with Airbus over damage to their painted surface. Meanwhile, Boeing’s 777X program, which has seen hundreds of jet orders from airlines across the world, is plagued by years of delays.
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