As the merger of Asiana Airlines is in the final stage, Korean Air, which is facing the realization

As the merger of Asiana Airlines is in the final stage, Korean Air, which is facing the realization of its dream of becoming a "mega carrier (extra-large airline)," received a satisfactory performance report in the third quarter of this year. After the merger, Korean Air plans to make every effort to combine chemicals such as mileage integration, while also actively creating new food, including defense and aerospace fields.

Korean Air announced on the 6th that it recorded sales of KRW 4.2408 trillion and operating profit of KRW 52.3 billion in the third quarter of this year, up 10% and 19%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. Q3 sales are the highest quarterly performance ever.

The increase in cargo demand due to the recent growth of China's e-commerce platform represented by R, T, and Xu played a decisive role in Korean Air's good performance. Cargo business sales in the third quarter led the earnings increase, up 22% year-on-year to KRW 1.1198 trillion despite the traditional off-season period of air cargo.

During the same period, passenger business sales rose 2% to KRW 2.6173 trillion. However, net profit fell 35% to 276.6 billion won due to temporary factors such as a rise in the dollar exchange rate and a rise in U.S. interest rates.

An official of Korean Air said, "In the fourth quarter, we plan to increase the supply of Southeast Asian routes, where demand for winter travel is expected to be concentrated, expand the use of gift cards, and diversify revenue sources by operating paid seats."

In addition to its existing major businesses, including passengers and cargo, Korean Air is actively seeking new food such as defense and aerospace. On the 5th, the Air Force University and the Korean Air Aviation Technology Institute in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for exchange and cooperation in the field of defense policy and defense technology. Through this MOU, Korean Air and Air Force University will conduct research cooperation on the Air Force's manned/unmanned complex combat system.

Korean Air has been developing an unmanned cooperative fighter (CCA) with the National Defense Research Institute since 2022, which is set to be opened to the public in 2025. CCA is an artificial intelligence (AI)-based unmanned fighter that operates with manned fighters. In addition, it is also preparing a special operation performance improvement project for the Korean military's flagship helicopter UH-60 called the "Black Hawk."

The merger with Asiana Airlines, which has been going on for more than four years, has also entered the final stage. According to the aviation industry, the European Commission (EC) is expected to finally approve the review of the combination of Korean Air and Asiana this month. The last remaining U.S. case is considered approved unless the U.S. Department of Justice separately files a lawsuit. Therefore, it is expected that the final approval of the EC will complete the approval process for global competition authorities.

Korean Air has fulfilled the approval conditions requested by the EC, including the transfer of four European routes (Paris, Rome, Frankfurt, and Barcelona) and the sale of Asiana's cargo division, and is waiting for a final decision. T'way Air will take over four European routes, while Air Incheon will take over Asiana's cargo division. Once the EU and U.S. approval work is completed, Korean Air will participate in Asiana's 1.5 trillion won third-party allocation capital increase before the 20th of next month and become the largest shareholder.

If the acquisition of Asiana Airlines cruises, Korean Air will become the world's top 10 mega-carrier. The domestic aviation industry's two-way system, which has been going on for 36 years since the foundation of Asiana Airlines in 1988, will also end.

After the merger, Korean Air plans to operate Asiana Airlines as a subsidiary for two years and focus on "chemical combination." Along with the recent controversial mileage integration work related to the merger ratio, it is reported that the integration of organizational culture as well as the painting of the outside of the aircraft will be changed sequentially. The actual brand integration will take place two years later.

A Korean Air official said, "In the case of the U.S., we are looking at the progress of the EC together, so it is expected that the approval of the U.S. Department of Justice will be completed after the final review of the EC."