South Korean full-service airlines have added mid-sized, lightweight aircrafts to their fleet in a preemptive move to cut fuel costs and stay competitive in the industry heated with greater challenges from budget carriers.

According to the aviation industry on Monday, the nation’s top flag-carrier Korean Air Lines Co. will start operation of the Boeing’s most fuel efficient jet B787-9 in March and plans to have a total 10 B787-9 models by 2019. The second largest carrier Asiana Airlines Inc. will also start service of Airbus’ new A350-900XWB in April and operate 30 of the A350 planes by 2025.

Both of the two models are mid-sized, but costly with prices estimated at about $250 million per unit. The air carriers are making bold investments at a time that they are still grappling with a protracted slump in the economy. “Those planes are pricey, but we need to make a preemptive investment in fuel efficient models to save fuel bills during a time of higher oil prices,” said an official from a carrier.

The world’s two biggest aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus’ latest B787-9 and A350-900XWB jets are made of lightweight carbon fiber composites and designed aerodynamically to improve fuel efficiency by 20 percent to 25 percent compared to similar sized existing planes.

The fuel efficient jets are expected to allow the airliners to save costs significantly. Every $10-per-barrel rise in oil prices is estimated to cost Korean Air $320 million per year, and Asiana Airlines $170 million. On the other hand, a 20 percent improvement in fuel efficiency is expected to save them 10 percent of operating cost per seat. As the fuel economy directly links to air carriers’ earnings, the nation’s two biggest liners are expected to change their flagship planes this year.

As of 2014, the liners competitively promoted the world’s largest passenger jet Airbus A380 with 500 seats or more, but the rising fuel prices makes them turn their focus to high-performance, mid-sized planes.

The B787-9 and A350-900XWB are mid-sized jets with 250 to 325 seats. Equipped with high-powered engines, they are capable of flying long-haul routes including the Korean Air’s longest flight of 11,481 kilometers (7,133 miles) from Incheon to Atlanta and Asiana’s longest 11,070-kilometer route from Incheon to New York.

By Kim Jung-hwan

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