Asiana Airlines Is Bringing Back Its Sole Boeing 747-400

The aircraft had an initial configuration of 10 seats in First Class, 45 seats in Business Class, and 304 seats in Economy Class. In April 2017, a slight reconfiguration occurred with subtle changes in its Business Class and Economy Class, with 24 and 364 seats in each cabin, respectively.

During the pandemic, Asiana Airlines parked HL 7428 in Seoul. Still, they quickly returned it to service within the second half of 2020, contrary to how most of the Boeing 747s within the Asia-Pacific region were being retired or stored during this time. Eventually, the Star Alliance member airline became the only carrier within the region still operating the aircraft.

The Queen flies to China

Unfortunately, HL 7428 was not utilized and was parked again in May this year before being returned to active service in July. Upon its return from storage, the iconic aircraft was still barely operating any flights. Still, the aircraft has accumulated more than 95,820 flight hours through more than 17,490 flight cycles as of July and is about to gather even more.

Beginning on October 27th, HL 7428 will be used to operate Asiana Airlines flight OZ 303 from Seoul’s Incheon International Airport to Changchun’s Longjia International Airport. The aircraft will be an upgrade from the Airbus A330-300 previously used on the original service. Furthermore, Asiana Airlines will also be adding another weekly flight service operated by the Airbus A330, beginning on October 27th.

It is currently unclear if the Korean carrier has other plans installed for HL 7428 to operate in other sectors within China, though the possibility is relatively 50-50. The Star Alliance member airline will also restart direct flights from Seoul to Hangzhou and Shenzhen. The flight services will be resumed on November 2nd and November 9th, respectively, with each city being served once a week, albeit the aircraft types remain uncertain.