Ahead of the integration of Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, new reservations, ticketing, and changes to existing bookings for some Asiana Airlines flights will be temporarily suspended for up to 23 hours starting next month.
As the migration of reservation data for the launch of Integrated Korean Air on Dec. 17 begins in earnest, changes are beginning to affect the actual air services used by customers.
According to aviation industry sources on the 26th, Asiana Airlines announced on its website that day a notice titled "Notice Regarding Temporary Suspension of Reservation Ticketing and Ancillary Services Due to Korean Air Integration Migration."
The announcement states that some flight reservations, ticketing, and ancillary service usage will be sequentially restricted during the process of changing flight numbers and migrating reservation data starting from the 2nd of next month.
New flight reservations and changes to existing bookings will be suspended for 23 hours, from 6 p.m. one day before the information migration of the relevant flight until 5 p.m. on the day of migration. This applies if any flight in the entire itinerary is subject to integration migration. It does not mean that all Asiana Airlines flight reservations will be suspended at once.
Advance requests and changes for special in-flight meals, service applications for passengers requiring assistance, and other services are restricted for up to 47 hours, from 6 p.m. two days before migration until 5 p.m. on the day of migration.
Covered services include those for passengers traveling with infants or young children, unaccompanied minors, pregnant women, passengers with mobility difficulties, and passengers traveling with pets. Advance seat reservations and changes to existing seats will also be temporarily suspended during the migration process.
The first reservation data migration work will begin on the 2nd of next month for domestic flights. It targets all domestic routes departing between March 28, 2027, and October 27. New reservations and changes to itineraries including these flights will be restricted from 6 p.m. on the 1st of next month until 5 p.m. on the 2nd. Ancillary service applications and changes will be restricted starting one day earlier, at 6 p.m. on the 31st.
Domestic flight reservation data migration will proceed in three rounds: the 2nd, 9th, and 16th of next month. International flights will be migrated in a total of 17 batches from the 4th of next month to December 3. Asiana Airlines plans to carry out the work sequentially based on boarding periods and routes to minimize confusion caused by the system transition. Jointly operated flights between Korean Air and Asiana Airlines will be migrated separately from December 7 to 9.
This process is intended to convert existing Asiana Airlines flights operating after the launch of the integrated airline on December 17 to Korean Air flight numbers. Accordingly, the existing Asiana Airlines flight prefix 'OZ' will be changed to Korean Air's 'KE,' and related reservation and ticket information will be transferred to the Korean Air system.
Korean Air announced its plan for flight number changes and reservation data migration in September.
An official from Asiana Airlines stated, "We will proceed with the reservation data migration work for the launch of the integrated company," adding, "We will do our best to minimize customer inconvenience during the migration period and ensure that reservation information is transferred safely and smoothly."
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