Summary
- Korean Air’s CEO goals to finalize the merger with Asiana Airlines this 12 months.
- The progress with the European Union is reportedly going well, and a choice is predicted to are available February.
- Several countries have approved the merger, however the US and Japan are still reviewing the deal.
The Korean Air-Asiana Airlines merger has taken longer than anticipated. But Korean Air’s top boss is aiming to finalize it this 12 months. Although several markets world wide have approved the deal, three key markets – Europe, the US, and Japan – are yet to provide their nod.
Aiming for the acquisition in 2024
Korean Air Chairman and CEO Cho Won-tae has said that the corporate goals to finalize the merger process with Asiana Airlines this 12 months. In his Recent 12 months’s message to employees, he noted that it has taken longer than expected to get everyone onboard and that the corporate
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The 2 major airlines of South Korea are hoping to grow to be one and have even managed to persuade the antitrust authorities of several markets, including Australia and China, but a couple of significant markets are still assessing the deal before they will decide.
European Union warming up
The antitrust regulators of Europe, the US, and Japan are taking their time to research the merger to make sure it doesn’t hamper competition. But last month, it was reported that the progress with the European Commission goes well.
The EU has set a brand new deadline to offer a choice on the Korean-Asiana merger – February 14, 2024. Last month, EU’s antitrust chief, Didier Reynders, said the progress has been quite good.
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The EU had requested some information from the airline and had temporarily halted its investigation until it received the responses. But Reynders told reporters that
Asiana Airlines can be doing its bit to realize approval from the EU. In November 2023, it decided to sell its cargo business as a step in that direction. Last 12 months, the EU had expressed concerns that the merger could lead to reduced competition in providing cargo transport services between Europe and South Korea. In a filing, Asiana Airlines said,
Japan and the US still have to choose
In fact, Korean Air and Asiana Airlines also need to persuade the US and Japan – each key markets for the carriers. The proposal for the merger was announced in November 2020, and over the previous few years, the 2 airlines have received approvals from several countries, including Australia, South Korea, Singapore, the UK, Vietnam, Thailand, Turkey, Taiwan, Malaysia, China, and the Philippines.
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With Korean Air aiming to finish the acquisition of Asiana Airlines this 12 months, hopefully, the US and Japan can even greenlight the deal in the approaching months.
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