Korea's Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) approved the Korean Air–Asiana mileage integration plan on September 14, 2026 and announced it on September 15. Approval of a plan is not an announcement that your Asiana balance converted that day, nor does it establish the date on which the airlines will legally merge. Following the future merger, existing Asiana members will be able to compare keeping their miles in a separate balance with converting the entire remaining balance to SKYPASS. This is a guide to documents available on September 26, not a check of your account or a guarantee of award seats.

Photo: Hyeonwoo Noh / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Original 2014 Incheon Airport photograph, used unchanged for context; it does not document implementation of the mileage plan.

Original Life Mokcha diagram comparing separate Asiana mileage with SKYPASS conversion

Three clocks you must not confuse

  • Regulatory approval: September 14, 2026, announced September 15.
  • Airline merger: the event from which the ten-year separate-management period is counted. The airlines have targeted December 17, 2026, but government authorization was conditional and safety and overseas-authority steps remain. That target is not a confirmed completion date.
  • Expiry of individual miles: the existing Asiana validity rules continue during the separate period. Ten years of separate administration do not grant every earned mile another ten years of validity.

Under the approved plan, Asiana miles remain separately administered for ten years after the merger, with the old Asiana redemption chart and expiry rules preserved. They can be used on all routes operated by the merged Korean Air for award tickets, upgrades, cash-and-miles and shopping, subject to the applicable rules. Award use is limited for cabin classes not covered by Asiana's chart, such as first class and premium economy, while certain partner-airline awards require prior conversion. This does not promise availability on a particular flight or date.

Original diagram separating approval, merger and individual mileage-expiry clocks

Conversion depends on how your Asiana miles were earned

Asiana earning source Approved conversion to Korean Air miles Illustrative 10,000-mile balance
Flights on Asiana or partner airlines 1 : 1 10,000 SKYPASS miles
Non-flight partner earnings, such as card, hotel or shopping 1 : 0.82 8,200 SKYPASS miles

These examples only show the arithmetic. Your account's flight and partner components—and their individual expiry dates—must be checked separately.

The KFTC release expressly says that a voluntary conversion during the ten-year period applies to all remaining Asiana miles, not a chosen portion. It is not a plan under which you move only flight-earned miles now and leave card-earned miles behind. The remaining balance is to be converted automatically at the applicable source-specific rates after the separate period ends. The airline's detailed plan says the original validity of Asiana miles remains protected even after that automatic conversion. Check the actual account and implementation notice rather than making an early conversion decision solely from a headline ratio.

Original Life Mokcha visual separating flight-earned and partner-earned conversion rates

Compare a real trip, not two isolated numbers

Keeping Asiana miles separate may make sense if the preserved Asiana redemption chart works for your intended journey and your particular miles will remain valid until you can use them. The merged carrier plans to accept the separate balance on its operated routes, but some cabins and partner-airline awards are restricted; inventory and any co-payments must be checked at booking.

Converting may make sense if an actual SKYPASS itinerary or redemption option works better for you and you understand the different rates that apply to your flight- and partner-earned components. Neither the 1:0.82 figure alone proves you must lose value by converting, nor does 1:1 prove that conversion wins. Compare the mileage cost for the same desired trip, seat availability, expiry and travel dates.

Elite status is a separate question. The KFTC approved a mapping from five existing Asiana elite categories to Korean Air categories. Members who apply for conversion will have their combined airline record reviewed; a higher resulting level can be assigned. A new Morning Calm Select tier is planned. Verify your own mapped tier and remaining qualification period when the airline publishes account-level instructions.

More award-seat use does not guarantee your chosen flight

The approved plan requires the merged carrier to maintain actual award-seat boarding performance at or above the combined 2024 airlines' level for ten years. For high-demand long-haul routes to the Americas, Europe and Oceania, the comparison is raised to the 2023 high point from the preceding decade. The regulator also set phased annual total miles-used targets and oversight of peak-season seat supply. These are aggregate company obligations, not a seat reservation promise for a particular route, flight or departure date.

Your next step: record your Asiana balance by earning source and each component's expiry, then compare the redemption charts for an actual planned trip. Confirm the legal merger and implementation date, conversion procedure and account balance through Korean Air's official integration information if accessible from your location. That site was access-restricted from one verification environment, so the publicly accessible regulator PDFs below are the source for this guide. Do not give account credentials to third-party “conversion” services.

Quick Korean checklist on Naver

The immediate account-check steps are condensed in our Korean Naver article. The illustrations here are original explanatory graphics, not screenshots of an airline's booking system or brand marks.

About the Author

Life Mokcha's editorial team (‘Mokchajigi’) cross-checks the regulator's decision and the airline's announcement while separating plan approval from its future implementation.

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