Asiana Airlines prepares for A380 deployment to increase its proportion of long-haul flights

Asiana Airlines has long operated in the shadow of Korean Air, which itself is a quiet achiever despite its status as the largest Asian carrier across the Pacific. Asiana is now seeking to narrow the gap by using A380s to grow long-haul services, commencing to Los Angeles in Jul-2014, increasing the proportion of long-haul flights as the carrier becomes concerned about mounting short-haul competition.

Despite being two-thirds the size of Korean Air, Asiana's short-haul North Asian network is four-fifths the size, suggesting over-exposure. Asiana's North America market is meanwhile one-third the size of Korean Air's, suggesting under-exposure. The catch-up game is however not just with Korean Air but a number of other carriers - like Air China, EVA Air and Hainan Airlines - that are rapidly growing their North American networks. For Asiana time is pressing to make its move, as the environment becomes more challenging - and will continue to be, as carriers cash in on the economic recovery in North America.