Asiana Airlines Suffering Delay in Korean Air Merger; Pilots Threatening to Strike More

As its merger with Korean Air stalls, troubled Asiana Airlines is facing an intensified strike by its pilots’ labor union. The pilots’ labor union is demanding a 10% raise after a four-year wage freeze that started in 2019, but the management is sticking to a 2.5% increase, citing the lack of its business normalization. According to industry reports on July 12, the Asiana Airlines pilots’ labor union will give its members enhanced strike guidelines on July 13 and go on strike in earnest on July 14. The labor union’s strike focuses on increasing the real cost of flying, which is maximizing fuel usage by accelerating to full throttle during takeoffs and using lift devices earlier during landing. The labor union’s enhanced strike guidelines come as the labor union leadership has recognized the limited effectiveness of the flight delay strike it has been conducting since last month. The labor union has been delaying flights since June 6, including by strictly holding pre-flight crew briefings as required, but the management has remained adamant in its stance, so the labor union decided to step up its efforts. If this does not work, the labor union’s plan is to go on strike in late July. If it does happen, it will be the first strike in 18 years. Asiana’s labor and management have been negotiating over wage increases since October 2022, but the two sides have failed to iron out their differences. The labor union is asserting that a large increase is necessary this time because wages have been frozen since 2019, while the management’s position is that it is difficult to raise wages because the company still has a long way to go to get back to business as usual.<br/>