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Korean Air-Asiana merger's route distribution has LCCs in holding pattern

Published: 10 Nov. 2025, 18:08 Updated: 10 Nov. 2025, 18:18

Jin Air and Korean Air planes sit on the tarmac at Incheon International Airport on July 13. [YONHAP]

The government’s plan to redistribute 10 flight routes following the merger of Korean Air and Asiana Airlines has drawn strong interest from low-cost carriers (LCCs) eager to claim newly available slots, according to the industry on Monday.

Applications closed the same day for six international routes — Incheon to Seattle, Honolulu, Guam, Jakarta and London, and Busan to Guam — as well as four domestic ones: Gimpo to Jeju, Jeju to Gimpo, Gimpo to Gwangju and Gwangju to Gimpo.

The Korea Fair Trade Commission approved the merger on the condition that Korean Air and Asiana Airlines transfer airport slots and traffic rights on 34 routes where competition could be undermined. Without this reallocation to third-party carriers, such as low-cost airlines, the merger would risk creating monopolies or duopolies on key domestic and international routes.

Authorities plan to begin redistributing the remaining routes in stages starting in the first half of next year.

Among the routes up for reallocation, the Incheon-to-Jakarta route is drawing the strongest interest from low-cost carriers. Industry officials say that few LCCs are not equipped to operate long flights to the United States or Britain, making Southeast Asian destinations a more viable target beyond already saturated short-haul markets such as Japan.

Planes sit on the tarmac at Incheon International Airport on July 13. [YONHAP]

U.S. competition authorities designated Air Premia as the replacement carrier for the Incheon-Honolulu route and British authorities selected Virgin Atlantic for the Incheon-London route.

Among domestic carriers, Jeju Air and Eastar Jet are expected to apply for the Jakarta route. Jeju Air already operates routes to Batam and Bali from Incheon, launched in October last year. Eastar Jet began flying an irregular Incheon to Manado in Indonesia route last month.

Airlines must obtain traffic rights through a bilateral air agreement between Korea and Indonesia to enter the market.

“Jakarta is not a guaranteed high-profit route,” one LCC representative said. “But once you enter it, competitors find it hard to break in.”

The source added that Hyundai Motor and a joint venture by Posco International are located near Jakarta, which ensures steady demand for business travel.

Authorities aim to complete the route allocation process by the end of this year.

The first round of screening by the committee will examine whether applicants operate independently from Korean Air, Asiana, Jin Air, Air Busan and Air Seoul, and whether they raise any additional competition concerns.

The second round, led by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, will evaluate safety and convenience for passengers, the clarity of flight operation plans, long-term viability and contributions to regional airport activity.

Authorities will notify qualified candidates after the first round in late November and are scheduled to announce the final selections by the end of December.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.