Korean Air has today announced the unconditional approval from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission of Singapore (CCCS) for the combination with Asiana Airlines, which was approved on Tuesday, February 8, 2022.
On Wednesday (February 9, 2022), Korean Air Lines announced that Singapore has officially approved the business combination of Korean Air with Asiana Airlines, after approval from the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore’s (CCCS) approval. Following a rigid analysis and assessment, CCCS has determined that Korean Air’s acquisition of Asiana will not infringe on Singapore’s Competition Act. From July 2021, Singapore’s competition authority conducted a public consultation of over 150 stakeholders, including aviation regulatory bodies, competitors and customers, in analysis of Korean Air’s business combination report.
In the end, the Singapore regulatory authorities (CCCS) found that the merged entity would be unlikely to raise ticket prices due to the high level of competition from Singapore Airlines, including both passenger and cargo businesses. Since reporting to nine countries regarding the business combination in January 2021, Korean Air has since received approval from Turkey, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. Korean Air will continue to proactively communicate with the remaining regulatory bodies in the United States, the European Union, China, Japan, the UK and Australia.
Source: Korean Air