More Canadians head to Korea amidst Korean Air’s recent expansion

Korean Air is now in the midst of significant transformations, driven by the acquisition of its former competitor Asiana Airlines, giving Korean Air top 10 status in global airline rankings.

With the integration of Asiana now well underway as of the end of 2024, Korean Air is on the road to becoming one of the ten largest carriers in the world, with a combined fleet of around 240 aircraft. This has been signalled by the recent unveiling of new Korean Air brand graphics for their aircraft.

“There are many big changes for Korean Air that are transforming the airline,” said Douglas Yiu, the Canada regional sales manager for the carrier in Vancouver. Yiu hosted a travel trade event in Burnaby BC last week, during which local tour operators and travel advisors learned about some of these developments, as well as news about Korea tourism.

For instance, they discovered that 250,000 Canadians travelled to Korea in 2024, marking a new high point in visitations from Canada to the country, with a 26% increase over 2023. A goal of 280,000 Canadian visitors has been set for 2025, said Youna Oh, the director of the Korea Tourism Organization in Canada, based in Toronto. She was in attendance at the dinner function in Burnaby, adjoining Vancouver to the east.

She gave credit to the recent increase in flights by Korean Air from Vancouver – to two flights per day – for the growth in Canadian visitations. But she also pointed to the global appreciation and consumption of current Korean culture, including Korean films, television series and pop music, for the big jump in visitations by people from around the world.

The merger of Korean Air with Asiana is expected to take two years to complete, achieving full operational integration by 2027. During that transition period, Asiana is operating as a Korean Air subsidiary.

Included in the transition is the consolidation of loyalty programs, whereby Asiana Club will be merged into Korean Air’s SKYPASS, starting in mid-2025. Also, after the integration, Asiana will have exited the Star Alliance and joined SkyTeam. Routes that overlap between the two carriers will be streamlined, and potential new destinations will be opened in Europe and Latin America.

Attendees at the recent travel trade function were shown the images of Korean Air’s newly modernized logo, as well as the new livery that is now being applied to the bodies of its aircraft.

They saw that the full name of the airline has been shortened to just “Korean” to allow for big, bold lettering on the fuselage. The text is larger, sleeker and in a deep blue, and Korean text (대한항공) will remain near the nose.

Red accents have been eliminated in the graphics, and the round tail logo is now just one solid color (dark blue). The round swirl is also a bit larger, giving it a more commanding presence on the tail of the aircraft. It is inspired by South Korea’s taegeuk symbol, a Taoist icon that symbolizes cosmic balance. As the integration continues, Asiana’s brand and livery will be phased out and the combined fleet will operate using Korean Air’s new branding.