Watchdog reviews Korean Air's alleged failure to maintain seat capacity

The Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has commenced an investigation into Korean Air Lines Co. and its affiliated companies for alleged non-compliance with seat capacity requirements following their acquisition of Asiana Airlines Inc. The FTC's examiner's report suggests that Korean Air, its affiliate Jin Air, and Asiana Airlines provided fewer than 90 percent of the seats on designated routes between Cheongju and Jeju from December 2024 to December 2025.

The report recommends imposing penalties for non-compliance and referring the case for potential criminal investigation. Additionally, the FTC has found the airlines in violation of the merger conditions, which required them to maintain seat capacity at no less than 90 percent of 2019 levels on these routes. In a related matter, an examiner's report has recommended rejecting Korean Air's and four affiliated airlines' request to reduce the minimum seat capacity requirement from 90 percent to 70 percent on certain routes.

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