Korean media says ”Mega carrier takes off” - Korean Air and Asiana Airlines merger process complete

Regarding the merger plan between Korean Air, the largest airline in South Korea, and Asiana Airlines, the second largest airline in South Korea, Korean Air announced on the 12th of this month that it has acquired shares in Asiana Airlines and made it a subsidiary.
The newspaper reported, "The world's 10th largest mega carrier will take to the skies." There is a long history behind the merger of the two companies. Asiana Airlines had 8.4 trillion won (current rate) of debt in the fiscal year ending December 2015.
The company's management has deteriorated, with its debt reaching 902.591 billion yen. In 2018, it sold its headquarters building, but it began to struggle with financing, and in April 2019, the Korean conglomerate Kumho Asiana Group
In late 2019, a consortium of Hyundai Group affiliates HDC Hyundai Development and Mirae Asset Daewoo announced it would acquire Asiana Airlines.
Due to the spread of COVID-19, the situation has changed dramatically since the acquisition agreement was signed, and in September 2020, HDC announced that it was scrapping its plans to acquire Asiana Airlines.
The government-affiliated Korea Development Bank, which coordinates the creditors, has decided to sell the company to Korean Air. Korean Air officially announced its acquisition of Asiana Airlines in November 2020.
Merging airlines is expected to create more synergy than operating as independent companies, which will lead to job preservation, as well as streamlining overlapping routes, increasing the number of new destinations, diversifying flight schedules, and
He emphasized that the benefits of the merger include an increase in customer choices, diversification of mileage acquisition and usage methods, etc. In order to implement the merger of the two companies, it is necessary to undergo review by competition authorities in 14 countries and regions, and
Korean Air filed a declaration to the competition authorities for approval in January 2021. Since then, in addition to its own country of South Korea, it has also expanded to Turkey, Taiwan, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, and China.
The country's authorities have approved. The UK has given conditional approval, Thailand has notified Korean Air that it will be excluded from the pre-screening process, and the Philippines has concluded the process because it is not subject to the pre-screening process.
The acquisition plan has been approved. Japan's Fair Trade Commission also approved the acquisition plan in February of this year. The Japanese side initially planned to acquire Asiana Airlines, as well as other low-cost carriers (LCCs) under the Korean Air Group.
)'s Jin Air and Asiana Airlines' low-cost carriers Air Busan and Air Seoul were to become subsidiaries, which could lead to an increase in Korean Air's share of routes between Japan and South Korea and limit competition.
In response, Korean Air proposed to rectify its market monopoly by transferring slots on seven routes to Japan.
With Japan's approval, the EU and the US are the only two countries that have yet to approve the drug.
The European Commission (EC) had a difficult time reviewing the merger. In May of last year, the EC announced the results of its interim review of the merger, expressing its opposition to the merger due to concerns that it would restrict competition.
In February 2013, the two companies proposed the transfer of four overlapping European routes and the sale of Asiana Airlines' cargo division as conditions for approving the merger. As a result, the Rome,
T'way Air will join four European routes to Barcelona, Paris and Frankfurt as a new operating company, and Asiana Airlines has decided to sell its cargo business to Air Incheon.
The EC recently notified Korean Air that all conditions for the merger with Asiana Airlines had been met and that the review had been completed. Korean Air subsequently filed a complaint with the Department of Justice, the US competition authority, against the EC.
The ministry reported the details of the final approval. Since the ministry did not raise any objections, the merger review was effectively completed with the EC's final approval. Four years have passed since Korean Air announced its acquisition of Asiana Airlines in November 2020.
The merger process has finally concluded after four years. Korean Air acquired 63.9% of Asiana's shares and made it a subsidiary. On the 13th of this month, eight executives were dispatched to Asiana.
The company announced that it will continue to operate Asiana Airlines as a subsidiary for up to two years, after which it will merge with Korean Air. Work has already begun to remove the logo painted on the tails of Asiana Airlines aircraft.
Preparations are underway for the merger. The passenger numbers of the combined Korean Air will be among the top 10 in the world based on pre-COVID-19 numbers. The South Korean newspaper Hankyoreh reported, "'Mega Carrier' Takes Off"
The article was reported under the headline "To."