Korean Air and Asiana merger now confirmed

KOREAN AIR AIRBUS A321-861 HL-7627 (MSN 130)

Korean Air has met all the European Union competition authority's conditions for its merger with Asiana Airlines. The European Commission (EC) declared on the 28th of November that it has finished its review, confirming Korean Air's compliance with all merger prerequisites with Asiana Airlines.

ASIANA AIRLINES AIRBUS A380-841 HL-7641 (MSN 231)

In February 2024, the EC conditionally approved the merger, mandating stable operations of a remedy carrier on four overlapping European routes (Barcelona, Frankfurt, Paris, and Rome) and the sale of Asiana's cargo business.

Korean Air appointed T'Way Air as the remedy carrier for these routes, pledging operational support including aircraft, flight crew, and maintenance services. A remedy carrier in an airline merger is a firm granted fair access to the merging airline's offerings via indirect distribution channels, enabling consumers to compare the merging airlines' deals with those of competitors, aiding smaller carriers in attracting customers.

For now, the two brands will operate independently, but the Asiana brand is expected to be phased out by the end of 2025. Both airlines have budget subsidiaries: Korean Air owns Jin Air, while Asiana has Air Busan and Air Seoul. The strategy involves Jin Air absorbing both Air Busan and Air Seoul, potentially surpassing Korea's other major budget carriers, Jeju Air and T'Way Air, in size.

Furthermore, the merger will lead to the unified airline joining the SkyTeam Alliance, with Asiana exiting the Star Alliance. Korean Air has forwarded the EC's final consent to the U.S. Department of Justice and aims to finalize the deal by December 2024.