Korean Air completes acquisition of Asiana, creating one of Asia’s biggest airlines
Korean Air announced Thursday that it completed the purchase of South Korean rival Asiana Airlines, a major step towards forming one of Asia’s biggest carriers.
Korean Air acquired a 63.88% stake in the country’s second largest airline, making it its subsidiary.
Following the merger, the enlarged Korean Air group could account for just over half of South Korea’s passenger capacity, and would become the world’s 12th-largest airline by international capacity, a Reuters analysis of airline data from Cirium and OAG shows.
It would rank alongside China’s top three state-owned carriers as one of the Asia-Pacific region’s largest by revenue, according to 2023 financial results.
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South Korea’s transport ministry unveiled measures on Wednesday to boost competitiveness in the domestic aviation industry, such as additional medium- and long-haul traffic rights for low-cost carriers, the Yonhap news agency said.
By March, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) intends to set up a panel to monitor Korean Air’s compliance with conditions attached to the merger’s approval.
The conditions include a pledge by Korean Air not to let seat numbers fall below 90% of 2019 levels on key routes, an FTC document showed.
Korean Air said there would not be staff layoffs.
“The combined organisation projects natural staff growth through business expansion, with employees in overlapping functions being reassigned within the organisation,” it said in a statement.
The acquisition was hampered by competition concerns. Korean Air had to make significant concessions around the world, including handing routes to other airlines and selling Asiana’s cargo operations, in order to complete the deal.
With information from Reuters
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