South Korea gives go-ahead for Jeju Air/Eastar Jet merger
Aviation Updates Philippines – South Korea's government has given the go-ahead to a
merger between two of the country's budget airlines – Jeju Air and
Eastar Jet.
 | ||
| Image: Eastar Jet 737-800 at Seoul Incheon (Wikimedia Commons/Flickr -byeangel) |
The country's Fair Trade Commission granted the
approval for Jeju Air to assume the management of the struggling
competitor Eastar Jet. Per the deal first signed in March, Jeju Air
acquired a 51.17% stake in the company from Eastar's parent company
Eastar Holdings worth around KRW 54.5 billion (USD $45 million).
“The Fair Trade Commission conducted the review as promptly as possible, considering the circumstances of the airline industry suffering from the aftermath of the pandemic,” the FTC said. The South Korean FTC found that the approval was given as an exemption from anti-trust laws citing Eastar was an “unrecoverable company.”
Facing financial struggles last year, Eastar Jet has seen instances of staff not being paid during the second half of 2019, and weakened travel demand to/from Japan due to trade tensions between the two countries – one of its major markets. It was also heavily affected by the groundings of the Boeing 737 MAX, which Eastar Jet had 2 of the jets delivered.
Eastar Jet's reported losses since 2013 has been estimated to be around KRW 62.3 billion (USD $51.3 million) last year.
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Eastar Jet's fleet have been grounded since March 25.
With no other competitor or outside company seeking the stakes in the airline, Jeju Air – the largest budget airline in South Korea – is looking to use the merger strengthen its share of the market as it competes with five other low cost carriers based in South Korea - Jin Air, Air Busan, Air Seoul, T'way and Fly Gangwon.
The market is expecting more competition among the South Korean budget carriers as new entrants Air Premia and Aero K are expected to launch within the year or the next.
The merger will involve the combined fleet of over 120 aircraft – around 69 Boeing 737 aircraft. Both carriers primarily operate Boeing 737-800 jets while Eastar also has Boeing 737-900ERs and 2 Boeing 737 MAX 8s which are grounded.
Both airlines have ordered the now grounded 737 MAX jets. Jeju Air has 40 along with Eastar's 4 on order.
From South Korea, Jeju Air's route network in the Philippines include Manila, Clark, Cebu, and Bohol, while Eastar Jet operated flights to Puerto Princesa, Palawan. Combined, both carriers have the most Philippine destinations among the Korean budget and full service carriers.
“The Fair Trade Commission conducted the review as promptly as possible, considering the circumstances of the airline industry suffering from the aftermath of the pandemic,” the FTC said. The South Korean FTC found that the approval was given as an exemption from anti-trust laws citing Eastar was an “unrecoverable company.”
Facing financial struggles last year, Eastar Jet has seen instances of staff not being paid during the second half of 2019, and weakened travel demand to/from Japan due to trade tensions between the two countries – one of its major markets. It was also heavily affected by the groundings of the Boeing 737 MAX, which Eastar Jet had 2 of the jets delivered.
Eastar Jet's reported losses since 2013 has been estimated to be around KRW 62.3 billion (USD $51.3 million) last year.
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Eastar Jet's fleet have been grounded since March 25.
With no other competitor or outside company seeking the stakes in the airline, Jeju Air – the largest budget airline in South Korea – is looking to use the merger strengthen its share of the market as it competes with five other low cost carriers based in South Korea - Jin Air, Air Busan, Air Seoul, T'way and Fly Gangwon.
The market is expecting more competition among the South Korean budget carriers as new entrants Air Premia and Aero K are expected to launch within the year or the next.
The merger will involve the combined fleet of over 120 aircraft – around 69 Boeing 737 aircraft. Both carriers primarily operate Boeing 737-800 jets while Eastar also has Boeing 737-900ERs and 2 Boeing 737 MAX 8s which are grounded.
Both airlines have ordered the now grounded 737 MAX jets. Jeju Air has 40 along with Eastar's 4 on order.
From South Korea, Jeju Air's route network in the Philippines include Manila, Clark, Cebu, and Bohol, while Eastar Jet operated flights to Puerto Princesa, Palawan. Combined, both carriers have the most Philippine destinations among the Korean budget and full service carriers.
No comments
The comments made below are the views of the commenter only. We reserve the right to remove comments that are offensive, harmful, or do not follow our community guidelines.