'Honeymoon hotspot,' yet just three passengers on a 180-seat plane... Still, "Keep the seats available"

[Financial News]  Five airlines, including Korean Air, requested that the requirement to maintain seat capacity on the Incheon–Guam and Busan–Guam routes be lowered from 90% to 70% of 2019 levels, citing declining demand. However, the request is unlikely to be accepted.

The Korea Fair Trade Commission said on the 30th of last month that it had submitted an examiner's report on requests to change corrective measures involving Korean Air and others and had begun the deliberation process.
In December 2024, the Korea Fair Trade Commission approved the merger between Korean Air and Asiana Airlines. It specified that the airlines must comply with behavioral remedies on 26 international routes and eight domestic routes, including a requirement not to reduce annual seat capacity to less than 90% of 2019 levels.
The issue arose as demand for travel to Guam plunged. With the island's popularity waning due to aging accommodations and rising exchange rates, flights were sometimes operated with only three or four passengers aboard 180-seat aircraft as supply increased under Korea Fair Trade Commission regulations.
Korean Air flight KE2260, which departed Guam for Busan on November 7, 2025, operated with only three passengers and six crew members on board: the captain, first officer, and four cabin crew members. The Busan-to-Guam flight on the first of the same month carried just four passengers.

However, the examiner reportedly concluded that the requests did not meet the requirements for changing corrective measures, such as serious or unavoidable circumstances. The examiner therefore submitted an examiner's report to the commission recommending that the requests from the five airlines be rejected.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission also submitted an examiner's report to the commission and sent it to the respondents regarding allegations that airline operators affiliated with Korean Air, including Korean Air, Jin Air, and Asiana Airlines, violated the ban on reducing seat capacity on the Cheongju–Jeju route, one of the conditions for approving the merger.
The examiner determined that the three airlines had supplied fewer than 90% of their 2019 seat capacity on the Cheongju-to-Jeju and Jeju-to-Cheongju routes from December 2024 through December last year, despite having no particular circumstances justifying the reductions.
Korean Air and Asiana Airlines were found to have violated the seat-capacity maintenance requirement again after operating the Incheon–Frankfurt am Main route from December 12, 2024, to March 28 last year in violation of the ban on reducing seat capacity and being ordered to pay an enforcement fine in December last year.
The respondents may exercise their rights of defense by submitting written opinions, applying to inspect and copy evidence, and receiving an opportunity to state their views. Following deliberation by the full commission, the Korea Fair Trade Commission plans to decide whether to impose sanctions related to the reduction in seat capacity, determine the level of any sanctions, and decide whether to lower the requirement to maintain seat capacity.

[email protected] Kim Hee-sun Reporter