Korean Air and Asiana Airlines to merge and launch as integrated airline in Dec-2026
Korean Air announced (13-May-2026) plans to complete its acquisition of and merger with Asiana Airlines and launch as an integrated airline under Korean Air's air operator certificate on 17-Dec-2026. The two airlines plan to sign the final merger agreement on 14-May-2026 and Korean Air will seek final approval from South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) immediately thereafter. Under the merger agreement, Korean Air will assume all of Asiana Airlines' assets, liabilities, rights and obligations and employees. The merger ratio is set as one Korean Air share to 0.27 shares of Asiana Airlines, and "Korean Air's capital is expected to increase by approximately" KRW101.7 billion (USD68.18 million) following the merger. [more - original PR - Korean]
Background ✨
Korean Air acquired 131.6 million newly issued Asiana shares in Dec-2024, taking a 63.88% stake after investing KRW1.5 trillion, and it said integration would be completed within two years without workforce restructuring.1 The European Commission granted final approval after remedies including divestment of Asiana’s global freight business and support for T’way Air to launch Seoul-Barcelona/Paris/Frankfurt/Rome services, while US approval remained pending.2 Asiana unions objected to the tie-up and urged authorities to revisit the deal, amid plans to sell the cargo business to Air Incheon.3