KOREAN Air's acquisition of compatriot Asiana Airlines is reshaping competition in Asian aviation, forcing such rivals as ANA Holdings and Japan Airlines to reevaluate their strategies in the fast-growing market, reports Nikkei Asia
KOREAN Air's acquisition of compatriot Asiana Airlines is reshaping competition in Asian aviation, forcing such rivals as ANA Holdings and Japan Airlines to reevaluate their strategies in the fast-growing market, reports Nikkei Asia. Korean Air will connect Asia and the world, said chairman and CEO Cho Won-tae at the unveiling its new logo and livery.
Boosting customer satisfaction is the top priority, he said.
Korean Air is South Korea's flag carrier and largest airline. Its parent, Hanjin Group, decided in November 2020 to acquire the struggling No 2 player Asiana and completed the takeover in December 2024. Korean Air is expected to fully integrate Asiana's operations into its own as early as the end of 2026.
Korean Air and Asiana in March ranked 18th globally in combined available seat kilometres (ASK), a measure of passenger capacity, according to British analytics provider Cirium. All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines came in 21st and 33rd. The new Korean Air 'outranks us in terms of scale and is a major rival,' ANA Holdings President Koji Shibata has said.
ANA is keeping a particularly close eye on how the deal affects global airline alliances. Asiana, like ANA, is now part of Star Alliance, but Korean Air is part of SkyTeam.
Airlines typically allow passengers to earn and redeem miles on fellow alliance members and give them access to their lounges. Many passengers spend miles earned on ANA to book Asiana flights to South Korea, for example, which would no longer be possible once Asiana is integrated into Korean Air. ANA would instead need to partner with Korean Air or with a separate independent airline.
Asiana's acquisition by Korean Air also affects the competitive environment in the Asia-Pacific region, which made up 34 per cent of global passenger traffic in 2023, according to the International Air Transport Association.
United and ANA led the three with 3.14 billion ASK for Pacific routes as of March, according to Cirium. Delta and Korean Air followed at 2.77 billion ASK. But their positions would reverse once Asiana is integrated into Korean Air, while American and JAL would fall even further behind.
'Korean Air has been focusing on Pacific routes in partnership with Delta,' JAL President Mitsuko Tottori has said. 'If they become an even larger presence with the Asiana deal, our company would see a major impact.'
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