The year ends on a high note for Korean Air, which recently earned third place in Condé Nast Traveler’s 2026 Readers’ Choice Awards, in the category International Airlines and also in the category International Airport Lounges.
A steady rise, after ranking seventh in 2024 and again in 2025.
Walter Cho, Chairman and CEO of Korean Air and the Hanjin Group, was also named Airline Leader of the Year 2026 in Asia at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit Asia 2026, which took place from October 1 to 2 at New Chitose Airport in Sapporo, Japan.
The jury praised Walter Cho’s strategic management during the pandemic and highlighted his role in overseeing the integration of Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, a complex consolidation ahead of the planned launch of the unified airline on December 17.
This indeed marks a major chapter in the Korean carrier’s history: absorbing its rival Asiana to become a leading South Korean player on the global aviation stage.
After a lengthy process slowed by Covid, Korean Air’s board approved in August the merger agreement with Asiana. To learn more about the strategy to be developed after the merger, we spoke with Hyunjun Shim, the France CEO of Korean Air, with Ludovic Froidure, the head of sales for Western Europe, by his side.
More Aircraft and Flights Departing from Paris
TourMaG – Asia is experiencing a major wave of consolidation in the aviation industry to take on the giants of the United States, the Gulf, and Europe as well. Is the aim of this merger with Asiana to become stronger?Hyunjun Shim : Yes. As you know, we will finalize this merger on December 17 of this year. The airline industry suffered from Covid, and that is when the decision to merge the two carriers was taken.
This merger, in line with European rules, required us to release slots, but in the long run we aim to strengthen our network. We will operate 11 flights per week from Paris and 2 daily flights from London.
From Frankfurt, we will operate once a day as well as from Barcelona, Rome and Milan.
TourMaG – Before this merger the two companies were in quite different shape. Asiana was in the red while Korean was profitable. How do you explain that?
Hyunjun Shim : In fact, Korean Air was founded in 1969 and Asiana in 1988, I believe. When Asiana was created, they adopted our model, because the needs of Korean passengers are the same. The difference is that Korean had the ability to invest in upgrading to become truly a premium airline, and that ability to invest was missing at Asiana. That made a difference.
TourMaG – Before this merger there was the announcement of a very large order of airplanes with Boeing, the biggest ever made in Korea. What will be the size of the future fleet?
Hyunjun Shim : We had 166 aircraft, and after the merger we will have 240 for Korean Air, plus the 50 to 60 aircraft from Jin Air, the low-cost subsidiary.
After the merger, we will have only two brands: Korean Air and a low-cost subsidiary, Jin Air, which will be consolidated in March 2027, bringing together Air Seoul and Air Busan.
Incheon: a Powerful and Highly Connected Hub Across Asia
TourMaG – Once this merger is completed, what will be your strategy? A powerful hub in Seoul and a move upmarket ?
Hyunjun Shim : Yes, indeed. You know that within our alliance (SkyTeam) there are two models, in a way. The Delta model, or the Air France–KLM model.
In Europe, Air France–KLM operates two hubs in Paris and Amsterdam. We will use a single hub, as Delta does. We will refocus it on Incheon. We will also continue to improve our onboard service. This month we announced that all of our onboard passengers will be able to enjoy the Starlink network for free.
We have also invested over 70 million euros to overhaul our seven lounges at Incheon Airport. In Japan as well, we will open our own lounge in Osaka.
Ludovic Froidure : Toward Japan, we will significantly increase the number of our flights, from 250 to 400 weekly flights, counting those of our low-cost subsidiary.
We will open new routes: Hiroshima and others to follow. As you know, we avoid Russia, which lengthens our Paris-bound flights. Consequently, we had lost some connections.
But now with two daily flights, we will regain many connections to Japan on the same day: Haneda, Narita, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, … a huge advantage for the French market.
Today from Paris we operate 6 flights that will become daily by adding Sundays and four other flights during the week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
We are adding the Boeing 787 Dreamliner of 325 seats with all our new onboard products to offer French customers the best possible experience.
The codeshare with Air France will also become daily and offer more connecting flights at Paris-CDG, enabling better connections.
TourMaG – In the Skytrax ranking honoring the world’s best airlines, Asian carriers occupy many top spots. Korean is ranked 10th. Do you aim to become the best Asian airline again?
Hyunjun Shim : No! (smile) the best in the world.
You know last year marked Korean Air’s 57th anniversary, and our president announced this new vision, this idea of an airline that would be the most loved in the world.
So number 1, number 2, that’s not important to us; we want to be the most loved.
Ludovic Froidure : For the fifth consecutive year, Korean Air has earned five stars. The same is true for Asiana, and so all teams will be carefully oriented to deliver the best possible service.
After the merger, Korean Air will become the 10th airline in the world in terms of international passengers. We are grateful to Incheon Airport, which in 2024 doubled the size of Terminal 2, dedicated to Korean Air and SkyTeam, and which can now handle up to 106 million passengers per year. In terms of capacity, it is comparable to Istanbul.
From now on, Korean benefits from a fantastic hub with ideal connections.
Hyunjun Shim : Yes, indeed. You know that within our alliance (SkyTeam) there are two models, in a way. The Delta model, or the Air France–KLM model.
In Europe, Air France–KLM operates two hubs in Paris and Amsterdam. We will use a single hub, as Delta does. We will refocus it on Incheon. We will also continue to improve our onboard service. This month we announced that all of our onboard passengers will be able to enjoy the Starlink network for free.
We have also invested over 70 million euros to overhaul our seven lounges at Incheon Airport. In Japan as well, we will open our own lounge in Osaka.
Ludovic Froidure : Toward Japan, we will significantly increase the number of our flights, from 250 to 400 weekly flights, counting those of our low-cost subsidiary.
We will open new routes: Hiroshima and others to follow. As you know, we avoid Russia, which lengthens our Paris-bound flights. Consequently, we had lost some connections.
But now with two daily flights, we will regain many connections to Japan on the same day: Haneda, Narita, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, … a huge advantage for the French market.
Today from Paris we operate 6 flights that will become daily by adding Sundays and four other flights during the week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
We are adding the Boeing 787 Dreamliner of 325 seats with all our new onboard products to offer French customers the best possible experience.
The codeshare with Air France will also become daily and offer more connecting flights at Paris-CDG, enabling better connections.
TourMaG – In the Skytrax ranking honoring the world’s best airlines, Asian carriers occupy many top spots. Korean is ranked 10th. Do you aim to become the best Asian airline again?
Hyunjun Shim : No! (smile) the best in the world.
You know last year marked Korean Air’s 57th anniversary, and our president announced this new vision, this idea of an airline that would be the most loved in the world.
So number 1, number 2, that’s not important to us; we want to be the most loved.
Ludovic Froidure : For the fifth consecutive year, Korean Air has earned five stars. The same is true for Asiana, and so all teams will be carefully oriented to deliver the best possible service.
After the merger, Korean Air will become the 10th airline in the world in terms of international passengers. We are grateful to Incheon Airport, which in 2024 doubled the size of Terminal 2, dedicated to Korean Air and SkyTeam, and which can now handle up to 106 million passengers per year. In terms of capacity, it is comparable to Istanbul.
From now on, Korean benefits from a fantastic hub with ideal connections.
Korean: Expanding Capabilities from France
TourMaG – Any other projects on the horizon? Particularly in France and Europe?
Hyunjun Shim : Traffic between Korea and Europe continues to grow, reaching nearly 1.4 million passengers between January and July 2026, i.e. +3% compared to the same period in 2025.
The route to France ranks first in passenger numbers with 150,000 passengers during that same period. That is why we want to develop demand and capacity from France, but as you know, bilateral agreements are required.
We are thinking, and perhaps it is possible to imagine other cooperation models as we did with Delta in the United States.
Ludovic Froidure : Regarding Europe, Korean Air operates more than 100 weekly flights from South Korea and serves 12 countries and 14 airports. For French customers, there is of course CDG, but also our 12 Europe–CDG code shares with Air France.
For the French in the South, we fly from Barcelona seven times a week and in the north there are Frankfurt and Amsterdam.
Hyunjun Shim : Just after the merger, we want to add frequencies to offer daily flights to European destinations such as Budapest or Prague. Then we are already thinking about opening new European routes.
Hyunjun Shim : Traffic between Korea and Europe continues to grow, reaching nearly 1.4 million passengers between January and July 2026, i.e. +3% compared to the same period in 2025.
The route to France ranks first in passenger numbers with 150,000 passengers during that same period. That is why we want to develop demand and capacity from France, but as you know, bilateral agreements are required.
We are thinking, and perhaps it is possible to imagine other cooperation models as we did with Delta in the United States.
Ludovic Froidure : Regarding Europe, Korean Air operates more than 100 weekly flights from South Korea and serves 12 countries and 14 airports. For French customers, there is of course CDG, but also our 12 Europe–CDG code shares with Air France.
For the French in the South, we fly from Barcelona seven times a week and in the north there are Frankfurt and Amsterdam.
Hyunjun Shim : Just after the merger, we want to add frequencies to offer daily flights to European destinations such as Budapest or Prague. Then we are already thinking about opening new European routes.
