Asiana Airlines‘ cargo unit will be sold to South Korean cargo carrier Air Incheon for 470 billion won (US$342 million), Korean Air Lines announced on Wednesday, according to REUTERS news agency.
The EU competition regulator in June approved Air Incheon as the preferred bidder to buy Asiana’s cargo business, as a condition of approval for Asiana to merge with Korean Air.
The purchase is expected to make Air Incheon, a small cargo-only airline, South Korea’s second-biggest freight carrier. A sale agreement was signed on Wednesday, according to a Korean Air filing.
The purchase will transfer Asiana’s fleet, staff, customers and traffic rights to Air Incheon, which is based at Incheon Airport, South Korea’s main international gateway and the world’s fifth-busiest cargo airport.
Korean Air, South Korea’s largest carrier, is set to buy nearly two-thirds of Asiana for about US$1.4 billion, but anti-trust authorities in the European Union want Asiana’s cargo business sold before they give full approval.
Korean Air had obtained a green light from 13 of 14 competition authorities for the Asiana deal, and CEO Walter Cho has said he anticipates the final U.S. decision by the end of October.
