Founding Korean Air, which was acquired by
Hanjin Transportation in 1969, had a monopoly on the South Korean airline industry until the establishment of Asiana in 1988. Asiana's formation did not come about as a policy initiative favoring liberalized market conditions, but rather because of pressure from other
chaebols and interests that wanted to compete. It was formed by the
Kumho Asiana Group (formerly Kumho Group) and was originally known as Seoul Air International. Asiana was established on 17 February 1988 and started operations in December 1988 with flights to Busan. As of 2007, the airline was owned by domestic private investors (30.53%), Kumho Industrial (29.51%), Kumho Petrochemical (15.05%), foreign investors (11.9%),
Korea Development Bank (7.18%), and others (5.83%).
Beginning regular service Asiana began operations in December 1988, using
Boeing 737 Classic aircraft, with flights to Busan and
Gwangju. In 1989, Asiana began regular services to
Jeju City, Gwangju, and
Daegu, and later that same year, began international chartered flights to
Sendai in Japan. In 1990, Asiana began its first scheduled international services to the Japanese cities of
Tokyo,
Nagoya, Sendai, and
Fukuoka. In the same year, Asiana had nine
Boeing 747-400s, 20
Boeing 767-300s, and eight
Boeing 737-400s. In early 1991, Asiana began services to Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong, and
Taipei. Transpacific flights to Los Angeles began in December 1991 with a
Boeing 747-400 Combi. Services to Vienna, Brussels, and Honolulu began in the mid-1990s. In 1993, Asiana began services in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.
Expansion as a global carrier and joining Star Alliance Asiana Airlines has rapidly expanded since its establishment in 1988 to become a mid-sized global carrier with a fleet of 85 aircraft. In December 1998, the airline operated an aircraft on behalf of the president of South Korea for the first time. The airline was listed in
KOSDAQ In December 1999. On 28 January 2003, the airline became a full
Star Alliance member, expanding its worldwide network and global brand. In 2004, the airline added
Airbus A330s and the
Boeing 777-200ERs to its fleet and expanded its routes into mainland China. Currently, it provides international services to 71 cities in 23 countries on 91 routes and domestic services to 12 cities on 14 routes. It also provides international cargo services to 29 cities in 14 countries on 28 routes by Asiana Cargo, the airline's freight division. In 2012, the airline had net sales of
US$5.3 billion.
New corporate identity In February 2006, Asiana Airlines modernized its
corporate identity for unification with those of other divisions of its parent company, the
Kumho Asiana Group. The names of the travel classes have changed from first, business, and economy classes to first, business, and travel classes, respectively, and the colors of the travel classes have changed to yellow, blue, and red for first, business, and travel, respectively. New uniforms were also created for the crew.
Financial crisis In April 2019, Asiana Airlines' parent company, Kumho Asiana Group, announced its plan to sell Asiana Airlines as a solution to its financial crisis. Asiana Airlines discontinued several unprofitable routes in the summer and fall of 2019 and, that September, the Aekyung Group,
Mirae Asset Daewoo, and Korea Corporate Governance Improvement applied a
letter of intent to acquire Asiana Airlines. On 12 November, a consortium of
HDC Hyundai Development Company and Mirae Asset Daewoo was selected as the preferred bidder. The proposed purchase was approved in South Korea, China, Kazakhstan, Turkey, the United States, and Uzbekistan, but the merger was canceled by
Korea Development Bank, the primary creditor for Asiana Airlines, and Kumho Asiana Group. Asiana Airlines would be run by creditors until a new owner was approved by the South Korean government. Asiana Airlines has chosen to retire older aircraft, including
Boeing 747-400s and
Boeing 767-300s, allowing the airline to reduce debt and weakness.
Merger with Korean Air On 16 November 2020, the
Government of the Republic of Korea announced a
policy of merging Asiana Airlines with Korean Air, which would acquire a 30.77% stake in Asiana from
Korea Development Bank. The Korean state-run bank would invest 800 billion won (US$600 million) to Hanjin KAL, the holding company of Korean Air, to fund the merger. The
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport planned to integrate subsidiaries
Air Busan,
Air Seoul, and
Jin Air into a new low-cost airline. The combined low-cost carrier will focus on regional airports within South Korea and flying regional Asia-Pacific routes.
2021 In March 2021,
Korean Air announced it would delay the merger with Asiana Airlines due to a delay in antitrust approval from the government and six foreign authorities (China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States, and Vietnam). Korean Air will operate Asiana Airlines as a subsidiary for the next two years, after which it will combine its operations, IT, and other systems into a single system until 2024. Once the merger is complete, Asiana Airlines could become a member of SkyTeam. According to
The Korea Times, only Turkey has approved the antitrust deal so far. On 30 June 2021, the post-merger plans between the two airlines were reported to have been finalized and approved by Korea Development Bank. In August 2021, the
Malaysian Aviation Commission approved the merger between Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, citing economic efficiencies and social benefits. On 16 November 2021, it was announced that
Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam had approved Korean Air's acquisition of smaller local rival Asiana Airlines Inc.
2022 On 26 December 2022, the
Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China announced its approval of Korean Air's business combination with Asiana Airlines.
2023 The
U.S. Department of Justice blocked the deal in May 2023, citing monopoly concerns. In November 2023, Asiana agreed to divest its cargo business in an attempt to appease regulatory concerns.
2024 On 28 November 2024, the European Commission approved the merger, followed by the approval from the United States on 2 December 2024. Following approval from all 14 countries, Korean Air officially completed the acquisition of Asiana Airlines on 12 December 2024. Korean Air Co. said on 7 August 2024 that it signed a tentative agreement valued at 470 billion won (US$341.7 million) to sell the cargo business division of Asiana Airlines Inc. to Air Incheon. On 12 December 2024, Korean Air completed the purchase of the debt-laden Asiana Airlines in a deal worth 1.5 trillion won (US$1.6 billion). The deal enables Korean Air to acquire 63.88% in the second-largest airline in the country, becoming the 12th-largest airline in the world by international capacity.
Towards integration with Korean Air in 2026 In December 2024, Asiana Airlines quietly launched its new brand identity after the merger, which includes the removal of the "red arrow" elements (also branded as the Asiana Wings) of the previous owner
Kumho Asiana Group and using the aircraft tail as a replacement. The Kumho Asiana Group logo on the fuselage has been removed, and the red arrows on all the passenger aircraft in the fleet have also been either removed or covered. The brand identity of the two airlines will remain unchanged until the integration is fully completed and in the meantime, several integration process will be conducted, including appointing a new CEO and key executives, as well as the integration of the low-cost subsidiaries of both Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, including
Jin Air,
Air Busan and
Air Seoul. Also, Asiana will end its 38 years of operation and will be integrated to
Korean Air by the end of 2026. ==Corporate affairs==