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European Commission publishes objections to proposed Asiana Airlines-Korean Air merger
May 19th 2023
The European Commission (EC) has formed a preliminary view that the planned integration of Asiana Airlines and Korean Air (KAL) may reduce competition on passenger flights from South Korea to France, Germany, Italy and Spain and also on cargo flights between all of Europe and South Korea. Read More » The findings are a result of an EC study of the planned integration of the two carriers commenced in February. “Other competitors face regulatory and other barriers to expanding their services and may be unlikely to exert sufficient competitive pressure on the merged entity,” the EC statement of objections said. “The merger may therefore lead to increased prices or decreased quality of passenger and air transport services.” The EC, which has until August 3 to deliver its final ruling on the matter, said KAL has the opportunity to reply to the statement of objections, consult the Commission's case file and request an oral hearing.
