August 27, 2025
SEOUL – Korean Air, South Korea’s flagship carrier, on Tuesday announced a sweeping $50 billion deal to purchase next-generation aircraft from Boeing and spare engines from GE Aerospace and CFM International, its largest-ever investment aimed at fueling long-term growth.
The deal, signed during President Lee Jae Myung’s visit to Washington, includes $36.2 billion for 103 Boeing aircraft, $690 million for 19 spare engines, and a $13 billion long-term engine maintenance contract.
Attending the signing ceremony in Washington were Walter Cho, chair and CEO of Korean Air and Hanjin Group; Stephanie Pope, CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes and Russell Stokes, CEO of Commercial Engines & Services at GE Aerospace.
The fleet order spans a wide mix of models: 20 Boeing 777-9s, 25 Boeing 787-10s, 50 Boeing 737-10s, and eight Boeing 777-8F freighters. Deliveries will be phased through the end of the 2030s.
Korean Air will also acquire 11 spare engines from GE Aerospace and eight from CFM International, alongside a 20-year maintenance service agreement with GE covering 28 aircraft.
The deal represents a strategic effort to reinforce ties with the US aviation industry and a proactive step toward sustained growth following Korean Air’s merger with Asiana Airlines.
“Through proactive, large-scale investments in aircraft, we aim to secure future growth momentum and deepen the mutually beneficial partnership between Korea and the United States,” the company said in a statement. “This strategic investment in the US market will enhance our operational capabilities and global competitiveness.”
The company added that, with major carriers pulling forward aircraft orders in the wake of the pandemic, the deal serves as a proactive step aligned with its long-term fleet strategy.
It would allow Korean Air to streamline its fleet around five high-efficiency aircraft families: the Boeing 777, 787 and 737, along with the Airbus A350 and A321neo.
The shift is expected to ensure stable capacity growth, generate economies of scale through fleet simplification, improve fuel efficiency, lower carbon emissions and enhance the overall customer experience, the company explained.
Korean Air opened its first US cargo route to Los Angeles via Tokyo in April 1971, and a year later launched its first passenger service to the city via Tokyo and Honolulu.
That legacy of cooperation continues today through the airline’s trans-Pacific joint venture with Delta Air Lines. Korean Air currently collaborates closely with a broad range of US-based aviation companies, including Pratt & Whitney, General Electric, Hamilton Sundstrand and Honeywell.