[SS Report] Korean Air’s Fare Crackdown: Smart Search or Market Distortion?
Creatrip Team
2 months ago
Korean Air has penalized travel agencies for using booking techniques that exploit fare differences on multi-leg routes, calling the practice a misuse of professional reservation systems. Agencies say they merely used GDS (Global Distribution System) tools to find lower prices and argue post-hoc fines — about 850,000 won per ticket — unfairly punish staff. The conflict centers on O&D (origin & destination) and POC violations when agents issue tickets showing a foreign origin to get cheaper fares while the passenger boards only later segments. Korean Air says the measures protect regular-fare customers from discrimination; agencies warn heavy penalties and contract threats create workplace turmoil. The dispute matters beyond fares: with Korean Air’s upcoming Asiana merger, regulators (including Korea’s Fair Trade Commission, the U.S. DOJ and EU competition authorities) will watch whether the carrier’s enforcement looks like abuse of market power that could reduce consumer welfare. Korean Air says it will use phased monitoring and dialogue with agencies, but the episode is a test of how the combined “mega carrier” will balance revenue management and competition concerns.
