Asiana Airlines

Asiana Airlines is an airline in transition. For three decades it was South Korea’s second big network airline and the counterpart to Korean Air; since December 2024 it has been Korean Air’s subsidiary. For spotters, that makes every sighting in the classic Asiana look more interesting: the colorful tail, the A380 with an OZ flight number and the code AAR on the tracker belong to a chapter that is just coming to an end. This page shows you how to recognize Asiana, which aircraft it flies and what the integration means for your sightings.

Asiana Airlines at a glance

Asiana Airlines is a South Korean network airline headquartered in Seoul’s Gangseo district, close to Gimpo Airport. It was founded in February 1988 by the Kumho Group, initially under the name Seoul Air International. On December 23, 1988, flight operations started with Boeing 737s on domestic routes to Busan and Gwangju.

The founding coincided with a time when South Korea was opening up its air traffic. Until then, Korean Air had practically served the market alone. Asiana grew quickly: in 1990, the first international scheduled flights to Japan, including Tokyo, and the first Boeing 767 arrived, and long-haul routes to North America and Europe followed later. At the end of the 1990s, the A321 joined as the first Airbus type – today Airbus makes up the largest part of the fleet.

Today, Asiana has two hubs in the capital region. Seoul-Incheon Airport bundles international traffic, while Seoul-Gimpo mainly serves domestic traffic and flights to neighboring countries. Jeju counts as an important secondary location because the route between Seoul and the vacation island is among the busiest in the world.

Codes and callsign

• IATA code OZ: appears in the flight number, so on the departure board, on the ticket and in schedules.
• ICAO code AAR: appears in the air traffic control flight plan and on many flight trackers.
• Callsign ASIANA: this is how the crew identifies itself on the radio. You can find more about such radio names under Airline callsigns and their history.

The IATA code OZ has no obvious connection to the name – IATA codes are pure identifiers and were assigned by availability. The ICAO code AAR is easier to remember: Asiana AiRlines. For spotters, the ICAO code matters most because trackers usually show it. How to read the data correctly is explained in the guide to flight tracking for spotters.

The takeover by Korean Air

The most important story of recent years is the takeover. In November 2020, in the middle of the Covid crisis, the South Korean government announced that Korean Air would take over the struggling Asiana. What was meant as a quick rescue took four years: competition authorities in many countries reviewed the merger because both airlines competed directly on numerous routes.

The EU and the USA in particular demanded concessions. The European Commission gave the green light in November 2024, the USA in December 2024. On December 12, 2024, Korean Air completed the takeover and has held 63.88 percent of the shares since. Since then, Asiana has continued to fly as a subsidiary – with its own code, its own fleet and, for now, its own brand.

Date	Step
November 2020	Government announces the takeover by Korean Air
2021 to 2024	Review by competition authorities in many countries
November/December 2024	Approval by the EU and the USA
December 12, 2024	Korean Air takes over 63.88 percent, Asiana becomes a subsidiary
December 2024	Red Asiana arrow and group titles disappear from the aircraft
August 1, 2025	Cargo division goes to AirZeta (formerly Air Incheon)
December 17, 2026	Announced date for the merger with Korean Air

The conditions included divestitures in Europe: the low-cost carrier t’way Air received rights on several European routes so that competition continues there. And the entire cargo division had to be sold – it went to Air Incheon, which renamed itself AirZeta for the takeover.

For the Asiana brand, the integration means the end. In March 2025, Korean Air unveiled a new brand identity under which the merged airline will operate. According to current information, Asiana merges into Korean Air on December 17, 2026. According to Korean Air, the Asiana brand disappears completely in 2027, and joint uniforms will come then too; when each aircraft will be repainted has not been set.

Star Alliance or SkyTeam?

Asiana has been a member of Star Alliance since 2003 and was long the Korean partner of Lufthansa, United Airlines and others. Korean Air, on the other hand, is a founding member of SkyTeam. With the takeover, it was foreseeable that Asiana would leave Star Alliance.

Until full integration, Asiana remains part of the Star Alliance network. After that, the Asiana aircraft will fly under the Korean Air code in the SkyTeam group. For collectors of alliance motifs, that is a turning point: anyone who has photographed an Asiana aircraft with a Star Alliance connection owns a picture from a closed era. How the alliances differ is explained in the overview Star Alliance, oneworld and SkyTeam, and the typical special liveries are shown in the article on alliance liveries.

The fleet: Airbus dominates, the 777 stays

Asiana now flies an all-passenger fleet. According to fleet overviews, it looks roughly like this in fall 2026:

Type	Number (approx.)	Use	Spotter tip
Airbus A321ceo	10–11	Domestic and Asia	Older generation with smaller engines
Airbus A321neo	13	Domestic and Asia	In the fleet since 2019, more on order
Airbus A330-300	14	Asia and medium-haul	Twinjet widebody with a long, slender fuselage
Airbus A350-900	15	Long-haul	More on order
Airbus A380-800	6	Long-haul	In the fleet since 2014, retirement announced before 2030
Boeing 777-200ER	8	Long-haul and Asia	Only Boeing type in the passenger fleet

The Airbus A380-800 is the flagship. Asiana received the first one in 2014 and deployed it on prestigious routes such as Los Angeles, New York, Sydney and Frankfurt – with its own First Suite. The retirement of the six double-deckers is announced before 2030. The difference from the Jumbo is shown by the comparison A380 and Boeing 747.

On long-haul, the Airbus A350-900 now carries the main load. Alongside it fly the A330-300 and the Boeing 777-200ER, and on shorter routes the A321neo and the older A321. How to cleanly separate the variants of the A320 family is explained in the guide Telling the A318, A319, A320 and A321 apart. The manufacturer of almost all types is Airbus.

Retired types

Several once-typical Asiana types are now history:

• Boeing 737-400 and 737-500: the aircraft of the early years, in service until 2013 and 2008, respectively
• Boeing 747-400: in passenger service until 2024
• Boeing 767-300: in service until 2025
• Airbus A320: in the fleet until 2024
• 747 and 767 freighters: with AirZeta since August 2025

How to recognize Asiana

The most striking feature is on the tail: diagonal stripes in several colors, inspired by the traditional Korean saekdong pattern known from clothing and textiles. On the forward fuselage are the “ASIANA AIRLINES” titles. This combination makes Asiana easy to recognize even in backlight or from a long distance.

Since December 2024, the livery has changed slightly. The red Asiana arrow, the symbol of the former Kumho Asiana Group, was removed or painted over, as were the group titles on the fuselage. Since then, the tail alone has taken on the role of trademark. Older photos with the arrow and group titles are therefore already historical.

Spotting Asiana in Germany

In Germany, Frankfurt Airport is the classic place for Asiana. For years, the A380 with an OZ flight number landed here too – one of the favorite subjects for long-haul spotters on the Main. How good Frankfurt is for such sightings is shown in the Frankfurt plane spotting guide. A proven spot for approaches is the Zeppelinheim viewing platform.

The European network has changed because of the merger, though. The EU conditions have transferred rights on several European routes to t’way Air, and with the integration, Korean Air and Asiana flights are being combined. Which flights still come with an OZ number and the Asiana look in fall 2026 is therefore best checked in the current schedule. As a rule, flights from Seoul arrive in Europe at similar times of day. When long-haul flights typically land is explained in the article on long-haul arrival times in Europe.

The Asiana family: subsidiaries and successors

Asiana includes two low-cost carriers. Air Busan came about as a joint project with the city of Busan, with Asiana as the largest shareholder. Air Seoul is a wholly owned subsidiary based in Incheon and operates Airbus A321s. Under the group’s plans, both are to be merged with Jin Air, Korean Air’s low-cost subsidiary, into a joint low-cost airline under the Jin Air brand. The exact status of the merger is best checked in current news.

This creates two big blocs in South Korea: the Korean Air group with Jin Air as its low-cost brand and the independent low-cost airlines such as Jeju Air and t’way Air. In addition, Air Premia flies long-haul as a hybrid airline.

Accidents and safety

The history also includes serious accidents. In 1993, a Boeing 737-500 crashed in bad weather near Mokpo. In 2011, a 747-400 freighter crashed into the sea off Jeju after a fire in the cargo hold. Flight 214 became internationally known: on July 6, 2013, a Boeing 777-200ER with the registration HL7742 touched down short of the runway on approach to San Francisco (for the airport itself, see Plane spotting in San Francisco). Three people died. The accident investigation drew worldwide attention to how crews handle cockpit automation.

Common mix-ups

• Equating Asiana and Korean Air – until full integration, they are two airlines with their own codes: OZ/AAR and KE/KAL.
• Still treating Asiana as a cargo airline – the freighters have flown for AirZeta since August 2025.
• Looking for the red arrow as a current feature – it was removed in late 2024.
• Confusing the A321neo and A321ceo – you recognize the neo by its noticeably larger engines.
• Still seeing Asiana as permanently in Star Alliance – with the integration, the fleet switches to SkyTeam.
• Considering Air Busan and Air Seoul independent – both belong to the Asiana family and are slated for the merger with Jin Air.

Conclusion

For 36 years, Asiana Airlines was the second voice in Korean air travel, and since December 2024 it has belonged to Korean Air. The colorful tail, the A380 and the code AAR will gradually disappear with the integration. If you carefully note registration, livery state and code now, you capture an upheaval that will not come again any time soon.