"Only 3 Passengers on a 180-Seat Flight"... The Shocking State of the 'Honeymoon Hotspot'

Guam Flights Nearly Empty, but "Seat Numbers Can't Be Reduced"

Request to Ease Seat Supply Requirement Rejected

Fair Trade Commission: "Does Not Meet Criteria for Change in Corrective Measures"

The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has effectively decided not to accept the request from five airlines, including Korean Air, to ease the mandatory seat supply requirement for the Guam routes, where demand has diminished. The reason given is that the circumstances cited did not arise after the enforcement action imposing the mandatory seat supply was taken by the KFTC.

Overview of Guam PIC Resort. Hanatour

On September 30, the KFTC announced that it had sent a review report regarding the application for changes to the enforcement action on the Incheon-Guam and Busan-Guam routes to Korean Air and other airlines, formally launching the review process.

Previously, when approving the merger between Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, the KFTC imposed the condition last year that the number of seats per year and per route must be maintained at 90% or more of the levels in 2019, prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, a sharp decline in travel demand to Guam has recently become a problem. While Guam was once a popular honeymoon destination, demand has dropped significantly due to the deterioration of tourism infrastructure and the rise in exchange rates. Due to the low number of passengers, the aviation industry has at times referred to flights to Guam as “Nupconomy” (economy seats where all adjacent seats are empty, allowing passengers to lie down). In fact, in November last year, just three passengers and six airline employees boarded a flight from Busan to Guam with 180 seats available.

Against this backdrop, five airlines—Korean Air, Jin Air, Asiana Airlines, Air Busan, and Air Seoul—requested that the requirement to maintain seat supply be lowered from 90% to 70% of the 2019 standard. However, the KFTC did not accept the request, stating that there has not been a sufficiently new change in circumstances to warrant revising the enforcement action.

Jeon Seongbok, Director General of the Corporate Merger and Acquisition Division at the KFTC, stated, “For a change in the enforcement action to be justified, there must be new developments such as natural disasters or external factors that cause a sharp change in demand after December 24, 2024, which is when the KFTC finalized the enforcement action. The decrease in tourism demand to Guam and other reasons presented by Korean Air cannot be seen as developments that emerged after the enforcement action was finalized.”

As a result, KFTC investigators submitted a review report to the commission that included the opinion that the application for changes to the enforcement action on the Incheon-Guam and Busan-Guam routes should be rejected. The KFTC will decide through a plenary meeting whether to impose sanctions regarding the seat supply reduction, including the severity of any penalties and whether to revise downward the obligation to maintain seat supply.

Meanwhile, the KFTC included in its review report the opinion that a penalty surtax and corporate criminal complaint are warranted concerning the fact that Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, and others provided fewer than 90% of the 2019 seat supply level on the Cheongju-Jeju route from December 2024 through the end of last year.

Director Jeon added, “We hope that Korean Air will fulfill its enforcement obligations more responsibly,” and expressed the hope that in the future there will be no cases of non-compliance and that adherence will be maintained throughout the enforcement period.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.