Japan approves Korean Air and Asiana merger, EU and US approval pending

The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) has approved Korean Air’s business merger with Asiana Airlines. This is the 12th approval received for the merger, with Korean Air still requiring approval from the European Union (EU) and the US. Korean Air is looking to obtain approval at “the earliest opportunity.” Korean Air was asked to submit remedies on select routes between Korea and Japan where the combined market share of Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, along with their subsidiaries, would limit competition. A Korean Air spokesperson in a press release said: “The JFTC concluded that five of the 12 overlapping routes