Korean Air has announced that its A380 launch schedule between Seoul and Tokyo and Hong Kong will start on 1st June. The tickets are now on sale.

The airline will begin its A380 service between Tokyo/Narita and Seoul/Incheon on 1st June, with the flight leaving Incheon International Airport at 10:10 a.m. Once the plane returns to Seoul/Incheon, the plane will then depart for Hong Kong that afternoon.

Korean Air will gradually expand its A380 service to Bangkok in July, once the second A380 arrives. The third A380 will launch service to New York from August, and fourth A380 to LA in October.

Korean Air’s A380 is one of the most spacious in the industry. Korean Air’s Business Class, called Prestige Class, will have 94 full-flat sleepers with 188cm (74 inches) between seats and extra large seat partitions offering the comfort and privacy normally reserved for First Class passengers on other airlines. The Economy Class seats are spaced at 86cm (34 inches) apart and Korean Air’s Prestige Class pitch is 188cm (74 inches).

The airline’s A380 will have a total of only 407 seats: 12 First Class and 301 Economy Class seats on the first level, and the 94 Prestige Class seats on the upper deck.  It is the first airline to devote the entire A380 second level to the business flyer.

Korean Air has ordered ten A380 aircraft with the first five to be delivered by the end of 2011 and an additional five by 2014.

The introduction of the super jumbo aircraft is expected to increase passengers from China, Japan, and East Asia transferring to the US and Europe, accelerating Incheon International Airport’s goal of becoming a global aviation hub.