Asiana Airlines sells cargo business to Air Incheon as part of Korean Air merger requirements

South Korea’s Asiana Airlines has completed the sale of its cargo business to compatriot Air Incheon, making the latter the country’s second-largest cargo operator.

The sale – valued at W470 billion ($340 million) – comes nearly two years after Asiana directors approved the divestment, as part of the airline’s ongoing merger with Korean Air.

As part of the deal, Asiana has transferred 10 Boeing 747 freighters and a sole 767 freighter, in addition to employees in its cargo business, to Air Incheon.

Asiana executives had hailed the completion as a “meaningful step” in its eventual merger with Korean Air. 

The divestment was a crucial pre-requisite to gain European regulatory approval for the merger between Asiana and Korean Air.

The European Commission conditionally approved the merger in February 2024, on the basis that parts of Korean Air’s passenger network to Europe, as well as Asiana’s cargo business, would be given off.

Following its acquisition of Asiana’s cargo business, Air Incheon, which currently operates a fleet of four 737-800Fs, has rebranded itself as Air Z

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