Korean Air Boeing 787-9 jet / Courtesy of Korean Air
By Lee Min-hyung
Korean Air appears to be on course to complete its acquisition of Asiana Airlines following the latest approval by Japan’s antitrust authority, which will positively influence the remaining screening procedures by the European Union and the United States, according to industry officials, Thursday.
The decision by the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC), Wednesday, is widely expected to speed up the potential approvals from the two other overseas authorities, as Japan gave the green light on the deal despite its geographical proximity to Korea, even at a time when both countries are stepping up their rivalry in the regional aviation industry.
“Japan is geographically one of the closest nations to Korea, and both nations are competing to secure their status as an aviation hub connecting Northeast Asia,” an official from Korean Air said. “But the Japanese authority approved the deal, so we expect its counterparts in the U.S. and EU to make similarly positive decisions.”
Korean Air announced the plan to acquire cash-strapped Asiana Airlines in 2020, but the deal then hit a snag for more than three years amid opposition from overseas competition authorities. The airline has so far received approvals from 12 out of 14 overseas regulators.
The two remaining agencies are also forecast to make their final decisions in the next few months. The EU’s antitrust regulator plans to finish its screening before Feb. 14, and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) will also likely end its internal discussion in the foreseeable future.
Multiple media reports said that the European authority will give conditional approval for the deal, after Korean Air offered to give up some European routes to T’way Air and sell Asiana’s lucrative cargo unit.
Korean Air declined to comment on other details concerning its ongoing negotiations with the U.S. authority, but expressed optimism due to the latest decision by Japan.
“We are in talks with the U.S. authority to finalize our acquisition of Asiana Airlines by the end of this year,” the official said. “We will keep garnering all-out efforts to generate positive outcomes, just as we have done so with the Japanese authority.”
Other officials from local airlines also expressed optimism over the ongoing deal.
“Even if it still remains to be seen whether the DOJ will give the green light without making other sensitive demands to Korean Air, the EU’s upcoming final decision will speed up the remaining procedure from the U.S. authority and keep alleviating uncertainties Korean Air has faced regarding the deal for the past few years,” an official from a local airline said.
Korean Air reported record annual sales of 14.57 trillion won ($10.93 billion) in 2023, up 8.7 percent from the previous year, on a solid recovery of air travel demand after the COVID-19 pandemic.
