Asiana Airlines expects to complete the transfer of its cargo unit to compatriot Air Incheon by 10 June, with aircraft and employees to be transferred to the latter operator.
The timeline was disclosed following a shareholders’ meeting on 25 February, where the deal was overwhelmingly approved, marking the formal completion of the divestment.
Asiana will transfer 11 freighters – comprising a single 767F and 10 747Fs – as well as 800 employees from the cargo division to Air Incheon.
On 16 January, Asiana signed the contract for the divestment, in a deal valued at around W470 billion ($322 million).
The divestment of Asiana’s cargo unit had been 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.
Meanwhile, Air Incheon in January outlined its expansion plans following the acquisition of Asiana’s cargo business. The cargo operator is looking to grow its long-haul operations following the divestment, and has applied to operate scheduled services on the Seoul-Anchorage-Chicago routes, from which it would also serve Dallas-Seattle and Atlanta.
