The Korea Fair Trade Commission has issued a supplementary order regarding the integration plan for mileage programs of Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, ahead of their corporate merger.
A Korean Air B747-8i charter flight carrying Koreans detained at the Hyundai Motor Group-LG Energy Solution battery joint venture construction site in Georgia, USA, is preparing for takeoff at Terminal 2 apron of Incheon International Airport on the morning of the 10th. Approximately 300 Koreans who were arrested and detained are reported to depart locally around 2:30 PM local time on the 10th (3:30 AM Korean time on the 11th). Photo by Airport Photographers Group
On December 22, the commission announced that it had requested Korean Air to supplement its management plan for the supply of award seats and seat upgrade services using mileage, and to report back within one month.
The commission stated, "As the integration plan for mileage programs is a matter of nationwide interest, it must be prepared to meet the expectations and standards of the public. From this perspective, we will review the integration plan more strictly and thoroughly to ensure that a plan satisfying all airline consumers can ultimately be approved."
The supplementary order is intended to ensure that, since a significant portion of mileage points are subject to expiration, measures are established to encourage their active use. It was also reported that the 1:1 conversion ratio for transferring Asiana Airlines mileage to Korean Air mileage, based on flight miles, was not considered problematic.
The commission added, "When Korean Air resubmits its mileage integration plan, it will undergo a review by examiners, and the commission will deliberate again to ensure that consumer rights and interests are more robustly protected."
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