Boeing (BA) may have another big order coming its way, courtesy of Korean Air.
The scandal-ridden South Korean flagship carrier is looking to streamline its fleet as it has too many types of plane at the moment, company president Cho Won-tae, also known as Walter Cho told reporters. That’s probably going to mean more Boeing 787s.
“There is a very high possibility we will expand our fleet on the 787. The 777X would be a good replacement for our current 777 generation and we are also keeping in mind the A350 as well,” Cho said, according to Reuters.
Shares in Airbus, which recently sold more of its A350s to Qatar Airways, fell 1.26% on the Korean Air news. Boeing’s shares rose by 0.79%.
Cho also said that Korean Air was considering possible flights paths over North Korea, due to diminishing fears over the North’s regime developing nuclear weaponry. However, while he said this would save his carrier significant money, “we will be very careful about when to start that given U.S. Tensions” with the North.
Korean Air’s latest scandal was the indictment this week of its chairman, Cho Yang-ho—the father of Cho Won-tae—on embezzlement and breach-of-trust charges.
The elder Cho is accused of stealing over $17 million from company funds between 2003 and 2018 by handing business contracts to a company he had set up, and pocketing the commission. His youngest daughter, Cho Hyeon-min (Emily Cho) was however cleared on Monday of charges relating to her throwing a drink at people in a business meeting.
The other Cho daughter, Cho Hyun-ah (Heather Cho), famously served time in 2015 for throwing a mid-flight tantrum after a flight attendant gave her nuts in a bag rather than on a plate.