SEOUL (Reuters) – The board of South Korea’s Asiana Airlines is due to meet again on Thursday to decide whether to agree to sell its cargo service, which would help clear the way for a proposed merger with Korean Air Lines.
Selling Asiana’s air cargo business and divesting routes to some European Union cities is a remedy prepared by Korean Air, South Korea’s biggest carrier, to gain EU antitrust approval for acquiring its rival.
However, Korean Air’s acquisition plan still needs approval from the EU, the United States and Japan.
Asiana creditors, including state-run lender Korea Development Bank, have been looking for a new owner of the debt-laden carrier for several years. Korean Air agreed to acquire Asiana in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As of the first half of 2023, Asiana operated 11 cargo planes according to a company filing. The cargo service has 21 routes to 25 cities in 12 countries around the world, including the United States, Germany and Russia. It held a 20.7% share of South Korea’s overseas cargo market.
Shares in Asiana were trading up 0.1%, versus the benchmark KOSPI’s 1.7% rise as of 0045 GMT.
(Reporting by Joyce Lee and Heekyong Yang; Editing by Ed Davies)
