Safety emerges as key issue in approval for Korean Air-Asiana merger

[Photo by Kim Ho-young]

Ahead of U.S. and U.K. antitrust authorities’ decision on whether to approve a merger between South Korea’s two full-service carriers of Korean Air Lines Co. and Asiana Airlines Inc. next week, aircraft safety has emerged as a key factor in their decision after four passenger jet accidents by Korean Air Lines in the second half of this year alone.

Korean Air Lines’ merger of Asiana to create a full-service air transport monopoly in Korea has gained approval from nine overseas authorities and is waiting for endorsement from five key markets - the United States, the United Kingdom, European Union, China and Japan.

Korean Air Lines expects to gain the nod from the U.K. as Korea’s two flag carriers account for an insignificant share in the global airline industry. But the biggest challenge is the U.S.’s decision due Nov. 15, where the process is mandatory.

“The U.S. has considerable influence on the global aviation market and thus, it is hardest to get its approval. Gaining the nod from the U.S. is the most critical (in the merger) for now,” said an official from the aviation industry.

However, concerns are brewing over Korean Air Line’s safety management after its passenger planes were involved in four accidents this year alone. It has emerged as a key issue in the approval process for its union with Asiana Airlines.

An airplane carrying 173 passengers bound for Australia on Oct. 30 returned to Incheon International Airport immediately after takeoff due to an engine failure from an overheating issue.

Cebu International Airport [Provided by AFP-Yonhap]

A week earlier on Oct. 24, the airliner’s A330-300 passenger airplane that departed from Incheon with 173 people overran the runway at Cebu International Airport in the Philippines while trying to land in poor climate. The incident did not cause injuries, but the plane was partially wrecked and the airport was closed.

On Sept. 30, a Korean Air Lines’ plane clipped an Icelandair aircraft while taxing to the runway at Heathrow Airport in London, and in July, an airplane bound for Incheon after takeoff from Istanbul made an emergency landing in Azerbaijan due to engine issue.

The four accidents in such a short period of time are very rare to Korean Air Lines. Industry experts question maintenance integrity while passenger jets were idled during the pandemic standstill.

The Korean airliner carried out a special safety inspection of its A330 aircrafts with test flights. Its president Woo Kee-hong spearheaded the inspection of engines.

Korean Air Lines has formed five teams with 100 experts in key markets for better preparation for merger endorsement.

Once it gains all approval from overseas authorities, Korea’s low cost carrier (LCC) industry landscape will likely be reshaped as well.

Jin Air went under Korean Air Lines in June, and industry experts expect an LCC monopoly consisting of Korean Air’s LCC subsidiaries of Jin Air, Air Busan and Air Seoul.