Lee Min-hyung joined The Korea Times in 2014 and has worked as a journalist mainly in Korea’s finance, tech and automotive industry. He specializes in content creation, breaking news and in-depth analysis currently on transportation and mobility. You can reach him via mhlee@koreatimes.co.kr.
Asiana fined $8.7 mil. for exceeding airfare hike limit
Asiana Airlines' A350 passenger jet / Courtesy of Asiana Airlines
By Lee Min-hyung
Asiana Airlines has been fined 12.1 billion won ($8.7 million) for violating the upper limit on airfare hikes, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said Sunday.
According to an investigation by the antitrust watchdog, the airline sold tickets for four routes at prices up to 28.2 percent higher than the permitted cap in the first quarter of 2025.
Last year, the FTC ordered Asiana Airlines to keep its average airfare increases within the rate of inflation through 2034, as part of a precondition for the approval of Korean Air’s acquisition of Asiana.
Citing the graveness of the issue, the watchdog has decided to impose the fine and report the case to prosecution.
“The measure was one of the key preconditions for our approval of the airlines’ merger, but Asiana violated it in the first year of its implementation,” an FTC official said.
Asiana Airlines sold tickets at a range of 1.3 percent to 28.2 percent higher than the limit for the four routes between January and March. The routes include business-class flights from Incheon to Barcelona, Frankfurt and Rome.
The investigation also showed that some 20,000 customers fell victim to Asiana’s unfair sales practices, with total overcharges reaching 680 million won, according to the FTC.
Asiana Airlines said it has agreed to accept the fine and take appropriate steps to rectify the sales practice.
The company also promised to compensate affected customers by offering vouchers worth a total of 1 billion won. In addition, it pledged to offer discounted tickets worth 770 million won for three international routes.
The fine is the largest ever imposed on a private firm for violating a condition during a merger process.
Earlier, the FTC demanded that Korean Air and Asiana Airlines abide by a series of conditions, such as limits on airfare hikes for the next decade, to facilitate the high-profile merger.