Korean Air estimates merger synergies with Asiana at 300 billion won annually

Korean Air said it expects the merger with Asiana Airlines to generate annual synergies of more than 300 billion won. The company presented this outlook at a shareholder meeting held on the 19th at Korea Investment & Securities' headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul. Korean Air plans to reduce costs and improve profitability by efficiently reallocating routes and capacity across the passenger, cargo, and maintenance segments. In particular, adjusting overlapping routes, linking cargo networks, and bringing inhouse maintenance work that had relied heavily on overseas providers were identified as key synergies. The company estimated the integration costs for the merger at around 900 billion to 1 trillion won. Based on this, it explained that from the end of 2028 or early 2029, the annual synergy effect could offset the integration costs. Once the integration is completed, Korean Air is expected to grow into an airline with annual revenue of 23 trillion won, more than 230 aircraft, and routes to more than 120 cities.