One of the reasons the Fair Trade Commission rejected Korean Air's plan to integrate Asiana Airlines' mileage is that the protection plan for 'spare mileage' is insufficient. Consumers who do not have enough mileage to purchase tickets or upgrade seats must use it at the airline's mileage mall. However, Korean Air's mileage mall does not have as many products as Asiana Airlines.
On the 16th, a Fair Trade Commission official said, "The places to use mileage are already decreasing and may decrease further in the future," adding, "Consumers with limited mileage do not have many places to spend it, so sufficient protective measures are necessary. Previously, on the 12th, the Fair Trade Commission stated that it rejected the Korean Air-Asiana Airlines mileage integration plan, noting that there are deficiencies in comparison to what Asiana Airlines previously offered.
To purchase tickets using mileage with Korean Air, at least 10,000 miles are required even for domestic round trips. Even if one wants to buy a one-way ticket for 5,000 miles, there are not many seats available for purchase with mileage. To upgrade the seat class of an already purchased ticket, 20,000 miles are needed for round trips to Japan, China, and Northeast Asia, and 35,000 miles for round trips to Southeast Asia and Guam.
Consumers with limited mileage must accumulate additional mileage to buy tickets; otherwise, they must use it in other ways. To facilitate this, airlines operate an online shopping mall, 'mileage mall,' where products can be purchased with mileage. However, Korean Air's mileage mall is significantly lacking in product variety and quantity compared to Asiana Airlines.
Looking at the mileage mall 'OZ Shop' operated by Asiana Airlines, as of today, there are a total of 96 products listed across 7 categories: ▲theme parks ▲accommodation ▲beauty and health ▲electronics and digital ▲lifestyle and kitchen ▲mobile coupons ▲movies. The logo shop, which gathers products produced by Asiana Airlines itself, has 8 items for sale. A representative from Asiana Airlines said, "At the end of last year, as the number of customers wanting to use mileage increased ahead of the merger with Korean Air, the mileage mall was significantly strengthened."
In contrast, Korean Air's mileage mall offers a total of 43 products, which includes ▲food and beverages (16) ▲owned brand products (19) ▲hotels (3) ▲life and tour (discount vouchers or coupons; 5). The economic feasibility is also low, as 1,400 miles are required to purchase a 10,000-won discount voucher at Emart. Using Korean Air's affiliated credit card earns 1 mile for every 1,500 won spent, meaning one needs to spend 2.1 million won to buy a 10,000-won discount voucher at Emart.
Compared to foreign airlines, the scale of Korean Air's mileage mall is remarkably small. As of today, Lufthansa's mileage mall has a total of 6,122 products available. Products can be purchased starting from 2,000 miles (equivalent to 5 euros). Korean Air has not established a plan to expand its mileage mall at this time, but it is reported internally that they recognize the need for related work.