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Headquarters of Asiana Airlines (Photo: Asiana Airlines) |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] Asiana Airlines is facing mounting pressure on its path to normalization, following a record 12.1 billion KRW (approx. USD 9.3 million) fine imposed by South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) and escalating tensions with its pilot union over the spin-off of its cargo division.
According to industry sources on August 5, the KFTC found that Asiana Airlines violated fare cap conditions imposed during the merger review process with Korean Air. Specifically, during Q1 2025, the airline charged passengers on four routes—including Incheon-Barcelona, Incheon-Frankfurt, Incheon-Rome, and Gwangju-Jeju—fares that exceeded the permitted fare increase limit by 1.3% to 28.2%, collecting an additional KRW 680 million (approx. USD 520,000).
The KFTC criticized the airline for abusing its dominant market position, stating that Asiana failed to comply with the price regulation which had accounted for inflation-adjusted 2019 average fares. In response, Asiana has proposed a compensation plan valued at KRW 3.1 billion (approx. USD 2.3 million), including discount vouchers for affected customers.
Internally, employee unrest continues to deepen. Around 220 pilots were transferred to the newly integrated cargo subsidiary, Air Zeta (formerly Air Incheon), as part of the company’s restructuring. However, both the Asiana Pilots’ Union (APU) and the APU-Air Incheon Branch have issued a joint statement condemning the forced transfers without union consent.
The union has filed for an injunction to suspend the transfer order, which was rejected in the first trial, and is now pursuing an appeal. A full legal battle is also being considered. Union representatives argue that pilots are being forced to bear the burden of restructuring under the guise of airline consolidation.
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
