The Korea Honest Commerce Fee has determined to impose a complete of 6.46 billion gained in enforcement fines on Korean Air and Asiana Airways for violating the “prohibition of seat provide discount” obligation, which was a situation for approving the company merger of the 2 airways. That is interpreted as a robust warning message that the fee is not going to tolerate monopolistic abuses and client welfare infringement that might happen in the course of the launch strategy of the built-in airline.
On Dec. 22, the Honest Commerce Fee decided that Korean Air and Asiana Airways violated the “prohibition of lowering seat provide to lower than 90% in comparison with 2019,” which was one of many circumstances for company merger approval, and imposed a complete enforcement nice of 6.46 billion gained. By firm, Korean Air was fined 5.88 billion gained and Asiana Airways 580 million gained.
In accordance with the Honest Commerce Fee’s investigation, each firms didn’t adjust to the duty to ban seat provide discount on the Incheon-Frankfurt route from Dec. 12, 2024, to March 28, 2025. Throughout this era, the mixed seat provide on this route was 82,534 seats, remaining at 69.5% of the 2019 stage. This determine is 20.5 proportion factors decrease than the 90% compliance normal imposed by the Honest Commerce Fee.
The prohibition of seat provide discount is a behavioral measure imposed to stop oblique practices the place airways goal for substantial fare improve results by lowering provide quantity. The Honest Commerce Fee mandates compliance with such behavioral measures for routes with competitors restriction issues throughout company mergers till structural measures similar to airport facility utilization rights or transportation rights transfers are accomplished.
Beforehand, the company merger between Korean Air and Asiana Airways was reported in November 2020, underwent overview by abroad competitors authorities, and obtained remaining approval in December 2024.
A Honest Commerce Fee official emphasised, “We anticipate thorough seat provide administration to lift consciousness amongst enterprise operators and stop recurrence,” including, “We are going to carefully monitor compliance till the tip of 2034, which is the corrective measure compliance interval, and do our greatest to guard aviation client rights.”
