Asiana Mileage Kept for 10 Years... Bonus Seats to Increase

[Anchor]

Ahead of the merger between Korean Air and Asiana Airlines this coming December, the final plan for integrating the two companies' mileage programs has been confirmed. First, Asiana mileage can continue to be used as-is on Korean Air for the next 10 years. In addition, the number of seats available for redemption with mileage will increase.

Reporter Hong Yeongjae brings us the details.

[Reporter]

One of the major hurdles in the creation of a mega-carrier combining Korean Air and Asiana Airlines was the integration of their mileage systems.

In particular, Asiana's mileage, the target of the acquisition, was the key issue.

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) decided that Asiana mileage can be used just as it is now without any changes to its expiration date for 10 years, starting from December 17, the scheduled merger date of the two airlines.

It can be used to purchase Korean Air tickets, upgrade seats, or for shopping.

After 10 years, it will automatically convert into Korean Air mileage, and passengers can also apply to convert it in advance before then.

However, the conversion rate will vary depending on how the mileage was accumulated.

Mileage earned by boarding Asiana flights will be converted into Korean Air mileage on a 1-to-1 basis.

Mileage accumulated through partner companies such as credit cards will be adjusted at a ratio of 1 to 0.82, meaning 1,000 Asiana miles will become 820 Korean Air miles.

What passengers are concerned about is whether there will be enough seats actually available for mileage redemption.

[Kim Jong-eok / Gangnam-gu, Seoul: When I want to use my mileage at the time I want, the seats are limited or the flight schedules are limited.]

The FTC mandated that for the next 10 years, the usage performance of mileage tickets and seat upgrades must be maintained at or above the combined performance of both airlines at the time of the business combination.

In particular, long-haul and popular routes such as the United States, Europe, and Oceania must maintain a level equal to or higher than 2023, which recorded the highest bonus seat usage performance among the past 10 years.

[Jeon Seong-bok / Director General for Enterprise Transaction Merger Review, Fair Trade Commission: To prevent operating in a way that increases bonus seats only during off-peak seasons and reduces them during peak seasons, Korean Air must submit the supply status of bonus seats for peak seasons annually to the Compliance Monitoring Committee.]

Furthermore, actual mileage usage is to be increased in phases so that from 2030, it is maintained at a level 21% higher than last year.

Korean Air plans to deploy special mileage flights focusing on peak seasons and popular routes if necessary.

(Video by Kim Nam-seong | Video Editing by Chae Chul-ho | Design by Lee Jun-ho | PD: Kim Do-gyun, Han Seung-ho | XR: Lee Jun-ho, Jeon Yu-geun)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.