Zenith Young
SEAT MAP
Korean Air currently operates 94 Business-Class Seats on the A380's Upper Deck.
By applying the Patented 4-Seat Seating System, the number of seats can be increased to 136, and with the 5-seat seating system, to a maximum of 170.
Our Business in Pictures
Korean Air's 380 Upper Deck is Currently Configured with 94 Business-Class seats.
British Airways Success Case
The Turnaround Story of British Airways' S-Shape Seat from the Brink of Bankruptcy to the Benchmark of Business class.
Crisis Begins
In the late 1990s, British Airways was facing a severe business crisis. Rapid growth of low-cost carriers and intensifying competition on long-haul routes sharply eroded profitability, and the airline’s reputation as a “traditional industry leader” was no longer enough to guarantee financial performance.
A Strategic Choice
At that moment, British Airways did not choose cost-cutting or incremental service improvements. Instead, it made a far more fundamental decision: to redefine how cabin space itself was understood—rewriting the very “grammar of space.”
Crisis
“There Are No More Seats Left to Sell”
At the time, business-class competitiveness depended on offering wider seats. However, wider seats inevitably meant fewer seats per cabin, leading to higher fares and declining profitability—a vicious cycle with no obvious escape. British Airways was forced to choose between comfort and profitability.
Insight & Innovation
Insight & Innovation
Insight & Innovation
Finding the Answer in Human Asymmetry
British Airways set aside conventional assumptions and focused on ergonomic observation. They recognized a fundamental truth: while the upper body demands generous personal space, the lower body can remain comfortable even within a more compact, three-dimensional layout.
The S-Shape Solution
Insight & Innovation
Insight & Innovation
This insight materialized as the S-Shape seating configuration. By staggering seats diagonally, shoulder and upper-body spaces were separated, while footwells were interlocked three-dimensionally—creating new space without expanding the cabin footprint.
Turning Point
Insight & Innovation
Turning Point
Reinterpreting Space to Make the Impossible Possible
With the S-Shape design, British Airways achieved an industry first: introducing fully flat 180-degree beds in business class while simultaneously increasing seat density by approximately 20% compared to conventional layouts.
Comfort and profitability were no longer mutually exclusive.
Success
Lesson Learned
Turning Point
Beyond Crisis, Toward a New Standard
Following the introduction of the S-Shape seat, British Airways rapidly restored profitability and escaped the brink of bankruptcy. The message—“a bed in business class”—resonated with business travelers worldwide, reestablishing the airline as a global premium benchmark. This success story went on to inspire industry-wide innovation, leading to space-efficient seat concepts such as herringbone and staggered layouts, and reshaping cabin design standards across the aviation industry.
Lesson Learned
Lesson Learned
Lesson Learned
A Crisis Is Not the Limit of Efficiency, but the Limit of Perspective
The British Airways S-Shape success story demonstrates how creative spatial design can simultaneously transform a company’s revenue structure and brand value—and how moments of crisis can become the starting point for entirely new industry standards.