KAL to Buy New Planes

Korean Airlines announced on December 29 that it will purchase four new planes including the B777-200 model built by Boeing.
The number of planes in KAL's fleet will reach 113 including 44 B747 jumbo jets. KAL had planned to buy the planes at the beginning of this year but was forced to delay the purchase due to the foreign exchange crisis.
KAL will finance the purchase over 10 years through loans from a number of banks.
However, the U.S. Export and Import Bank requested that the Korean government guarantee KAL's credibility which further delayed the new planes' purchase.
A source at KAL said, 'This is the first time since the IMF bailout that KAL received a guarantee through the U.S. Export and Import Bank related to buying airplanes. We will continue to acquire new planes to lower the overall age of our fleet.'