Nearly six years after Korean Air first announced plans to acquire Asiana Airlines in 2020, the two will finally merge as an integrated flag carrier from 17 December 2026. According to the contract, Korean Air will “absorb all Asiana Airlines assets, liabilities, rights, obligations, and personnel”.

Starting June, the carrier will proceed to standardise aircraft and safety systems onboard Asiana Airlines, to align with those under Korean Air’s existing air operator certificate. This will be followed by filings with overseas aviation regulators to align safety management systems and operational protocols.

Infrastructure and service updates

A string of investments are in the works to support expansion plans.

These include service upgrades, such as lounge renewals, catering updates, and terminal relocations to improve passenger experience. Flight crew training programmes will also be aligned across both airlines, alongside a refreshed cabin crew training center and staff facilities to manage higher volume. A new engine maintenance plant will also be planted near Incheon International Airport.

What passengers need to know

Overlapping routes will be streamlined, even as Korean Air expands into new markets and moves closer to eventually combining its low-cost subsidiaries, Jin Air, Air Busan and Air Seoul, into a single carrier operating under the Jin Air brand from 2027.

In late 2025, Korean Air announced that the carrier would preserve the value of Asiana Airlines’ mileage points for up to a decade following the merger. More details about a consolidated loyalty programme will be announced at a later time.

The merger – which began at the height of the Covid-19 – is set to reshape Korea’s aviation landscape, creating huge opportunities for the Korean travel industry, said Bo Young Song, senior vice president, passenger business division, Korean Air at WiT Seoul in 2024.

 Related: Korean Air and Asiana’s merger explained