We've done it. The EU and the United States have finally approved Korean Air's takeover of Asiana, Korea's second-largest carrier. And its definitive merger with Korea's national carrier. Buyout worth $1.3 billion -corresponding to 63.88% of Asiana's capital- had to wait three years to materialise.
This approval gives the Korean Air group unprecedented firepower. The new entity is expected to account for just over half of passenger capacity in South Korea.. And become the 12th largest airline in the world in terms of international capacity.
Paris-Seoul will see a new carrier, T'Way Air
The go-ahead for the merger from the European and American authorities was given following promises from maintain competition on international routes - particularly to Europe. The Korean Ministry of Transport has unveiled measures to stimulate this competition, with additional traffic rights being granted to small airlines.
The low-cost carrier T'Way Air to launch long-haul service. The airline will be able to link Seoul Incheon airport to Barcelona, Frankfurt, Paris-CDG and Rome-Fiumicino. It will be supported by Korean Air in setting up these future European routes. At the same time, the Ministry has designated new Korean low-cost transport services for short and medium-haul routes.
Two other stages remain: a plan to merge the frequent flyer programmes will be presented to the Korean civil aviation authorities in June 2025. As for the disappearance of the Asiana brand, which will only take place after a two-year process. In the meantime, it will be managed as a subsidiary of Korean Air.
