Korean Air has finally won European regulatory approval for its acquisition of Asiana Airlines.
This leaves one final hurdle – approval from the US regulator.
The approval came with conditions.
The EC said Korean Air must follow through its proposal of giving Korean airline T’way Air slots and traffic rights on certain routes where Korean Air and Asiana both operate.
EC officials conducted a year-long anti-trust investigation into the merger impacts for flight frequencies and consumer choice.
The Japan regulator recently approved the merger deal.
The last hurdle may well be the hardest to overcome.
The US Government has taken a hard line with airline mergers.
“With the EC approval secured, Korean Air continues to be focused on its discussions with the US competition authority to finalise the overall merger as soon as possible.”
