Korean Air, Asiana to swap flight attendants after U.S. approves merger

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Korean Air, Asiana to swap flight attendants after U.S. approves merger

Published: 06 Aug. 2024, 07:00 Updated: 08 Aug. 2024, 11:40

Cabin employees of Korean Air, right, and China Southern Airlines pose for a photo. The two carriers conducted a cabin crew exchange program in 2007. [KOREAN AIR]

Korean Air and Asiana Airlines cabin crews will begin swapping duties as early as next year once the two companies' planned merger is approved.

The two airlines are just one step away from merging, pending the conclusion of a review by the U.S. Department of Justice. Korean Air plans to keep Asiana as a subsidiary for two years before fully subsuming the carrier. The two airlines will exchange employees during the intermediary period.

Korean Air is considering swapping cabin crews between the two airlines in addition to office workers. Cabin crew constitute a plurality — approximately half — of the companies' work forces: Korean Air employed 6,000 flight attendants as of the first quarter of this year while Asiana sported 3,000.

Details regarding the timing and scope of the potential exchange have not yet been revealed, but it is clear that integrating the two groups of onboard workers will be a critical task.

The two companies' differing employee training systems will need to be considered. “While we have outlined the general framework, further discussions are necessary to determine the scale and whether only employees above the team leader level will be included,” a Korean Air spokesperson said.

Beyond flight attendants, Korean Air is exploring ways to streamline the merger process across different sectors, including business and maintenance. “We are reviewing a variety of methods for this merger, including employee exchanges, but the specific sectors and scale have not yet been confirmed,” the company said.

This would not be Korean Air's first time implementing such a program. In 2007, the airline placed 40 employees on two Chinese routes in collaboration with China Southern Airlines, including six who were placed on China Southern Airlines' Incheon-Guangzhou route, with one crew member per flight. China Southern Airlines also placed a total of 40 crew members on Korean Air's Incheon-Guangzhou, Incheon-Beijing, and Incheon-Changsha routes, with two crew members per flight over six months.

Asiana Airlines and All Nippon Airways have each exchanged one flight attendant on the Gimpo-Haneda route.

Korean Air aims to finalize its merger with Asiana Airlines by the end of this year. In an interview with Bloomberg ahead of the International Air Transport Association's annual general meeting held this June in Dubai, Korean Air Chairman and CEO Walter Cho said, “We expect to receive final approval by October.”

“It's a step considered tantamount to a complete approval of Korean Air's merger with Asiana, as I believe the U.S. Justice Department would not contemplate legal action [to block the takeover],” Korean Air President Woo Kee-hong told JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily, in May.

In light of the merger, Korean Air Lines has been inking contracts for new aircraft in rapid succession, including a memorandum of understanding for the purchase of 20 Boeing 777-9 and 30 Boeing 787-10 aircraft. It plans to introduce 33 Airbus A350 planes and 50 A321 NEOs, expanding its fleet of environmentally friendly planes to 203, by 2034.

BY PARK YOUNG-WOO [yoon.seungjin@joongang.co.kr]