South Korea’s Asiana plans to use A380 to boost capacity to Los Angeles and New York

Asiana aims to significantly expand capacity on US routes after it becomes the sixth Asian and second South Korean carrier to operate the A380 in 2014. Asiana has six A380s on order and plans to initially deploy the super jumbo on long-haul routes to Los Angeles and New York as well as on some dense regional routes within north Asia such as Hong Kong, Shanghai Pudong and Tokyo Narita.

Frankfurt is the most likely destination for Asiana's last batch of A380s, which will not be delivered until 2017. While the carrier does not plan to open any new routes with its A380s, the new type will free up Boeing 777-200ERs to launch new destinations in Europe and North America. Asiana's long-haul network is currently limited to only six destinations in North America and three in western Europe, making it a much smaller long-haul carrier than local rival Korean Air (KAL). Asiana also has 30 A350s on order for delivery from 2017 but these aircraft are intended for regional routes within Asia-Pacific.