SEOUL, KOREA - Korean Airlines surpassed the 1,000 mark in cumulative production of its in-house-developed wing part “Sharklet” for use in A320 series aircraft. The airliner held a ceremony to celebrate its achievement of the milestone at its tech center in Busan on February 18.

 

Sharklet is an L-shaped structure that is attached to the wing tip of the A320 aircraft. Sharklet helps reduce the aircraft’s air resistance, thereby contributing to saving fuel consumption by up to 3.5 percent.

Korean Air reached the milestone in 22 months after it supplied the first Sharklet in April 2012. It carried out the entire development process of Sharklet covering the areas of design, development, production, testing and certification.

Airbus plans to expand the application of Sharklet from the A320 aircraft that it is now producing, towards other airplanes.

To increase the output of Sharklet, Korean Air recently installed the Auto Moving Line facility that can expand the monthly production of Sharklet up to more than 100. With Sharklet, Korean Air plans to create sales of more than 400 billion won by 2017.