Jin Air clears Vietnam competition review, accelerates push for merged carrier launch

Jin Air is stepping up preparations for a March launch of a merged carrier after completing all required foreign competition reviews.

The airline said Wednesday it received final merger approval from Vietnam's Competition Commission on Friday.

The approval follows the signing of a merger agreement on Aug. 21 among three low-cost carriers under Hanjin Group. Jin Air had submitted a merger filing to Vietnamese competition authorities, with the review proceeding from Sept. 10. With Vietnamese clearance now secured, Jin Air plans to advance domestic administrative steps, including merger approval from the Fair Trade Commission and authorization from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

In the lead-up to the merger, Jin Air has been building an integration foundation alongside Air Busan and Air Seoul, making proactive preparations and investments across safety, flight operations, maintenance, service and organizational culture.

In flight safety, the airline invested about 22 billion won ($16.4 million) to expand its in-house training infrastructure, including full-flight simulators, and successfully introduced the A321ceo — its first Airbus aircraft type. The three carriers have also conducted joint emergency evacuation drills and integrated flight-system checks, and are working to standardize training frameworks and operational manuals across all departments.

Cooperation has also deepened on the customer service and operational integration front. Jin Air and Air Busan launched a codeshare arrangement, while in-flight menu options were diversified and the window for purchasing and refunding ancillary services was extended to improve passenger convenience. The three airlines have also pursued physical and organizational integration through consolidated office operations, joint accessibility training for staff handling passengers with reduced mobility, unified cabin crew manuals and cabin familiarization training.

"The foreign competition review process is complete and operational preparations for the three-way merger are on track," a Jin Air official said. "As soon as domestic regulatory procedures are finalized, we will move swiftly through the remaining steps to ensure a successful integrated Jin Air launch in March next year."

Meanwhile, Jin Air is running a promotion through Oct. 31 offering all new members who sign up via its official website or mobile app — targeting customers in South Korea, Japan and Taiwan — a 30,000-won discount coupon on international checked-baggage packages, as part of broader marketing efforts to expand its customer base.