Korean Air said Tuesday that South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has approved its plan to integrate Asiana Airlines’ mileage program. The decision clears another major hurdle in the long-running merger process between the two carriers, a move closely watched by travelers and business groups in Korea and abroad.
Under the approved plan, all mileage will be earned as Korean Air SkyPass miles once the integrated carrier launches. Existing Asiana mileage will be transferred to Korean Air but kept separate for 10 years, and customers may either continue using those miles under Asiana’s current redemption rules or convert them to SkyPass at a time of their choosing.
The conversion rates will differ depending on how the miles were earned. Flight-accrued miles will convert at 1 to 1, while miles earned through partner channels such as credit cards will convert at 1 to 0.82. Korean Air said it will maintain the same proportion of bonus seats available relative to overall award-seat supply to give customers more chances to use their miles.
Asiana’s elite-member benefits will be matched automatically to Korean Air’s membership tiers, and qualifying periods will remain intact. Korean Air said the plan was reached after about 15 months of review focused on maximizing customer benefits.
