Asiana becomes Korean Air on Dec 17: booking freezes and new KE flight codes

Asiana Airlines merges into Korean Air on December 17, 2026, and its booking records are moving across in batches from November 2. When a flight on your itinerary is in a batch, new bookings, ticketing and changes pause for up to 23 hours, Money Today reported on October 26. Anyone holding or buying an Asiana ticket for November or December should know when that falls.

The essentials

• What: Asiana joins the integrated Korean Air. Its OZ flight codes become KE, and its booking data moves to Korean Air's system.
• When: the merged airline launches December 17; the data migration runs from November 2 to December 9.
• Status: the freeze date for each international flight and the dates of the seat-selection pause were not in the reports we read, so check the airline notices for your own dates.

Who is affected (and who isn't)

Asiana posted the restrictions on its website on October 26, and they do not freeze every ticket at once. A pause applies only to an itinerary that contains at least one flight being migrated in that batch.

• Bookings, ticketing and changes. Blocked from 18:00 KST the day before a flight's migration until 17:00 on migration day.
• Special meals and assistance. Requests for special meals, and for help with infants, unaccompanied minors, pregnant passengers or reduced mobility, are restricted for up to 47 hours: from 18:00 two days before migration to 17:00 on the day. Pet requests share that longer window.
• Seats. Advance seat selection and seat changes are suspended during migration. Money Today gives no specific dates for this pause.

Key dates: domestic, international and codeshare migration

• Domestic routes: three rounds, on November 2, 9 and 16.
• International routes: 17 rounds between November 4 and December 3.
• Codeshare flights: December 7–9.
• Flight-code switch: from November 2 to December 3, Asiana bookings departing on or after December 17 are converted from OZ to KE codes, Herald Corp reported on September 14.

In the first domestic round, ancillary requests close at 18:00 on October 31, and bookings freeze from 18:00 on November 1 until 17:00 on November 2. No international example has been reported.

Before you book or change: a checklist

• Change dates early. Finish date changes and new tickets before your route's window opens.
• Send service requests first. Meal, assistance and pet requests close a full day before bookings do, so file them first.
• Choose seats while you can. With no published dates for the seat pause, pick your seat now.
• Know the mileage ratios. Asiana leaves Star Alliance at 23:59 KST on December 16, according to Prince of Travel. It reports that miles earned on Asiana flights convert to Korean Air SKYPASS at 1:1, and miles earned with partners at 1:0.82.
• Watch your phone and inbox. Passengers whose codes change are told one by one through KakaoTalk, SMS and email, and Korean Air will post an FAQ (Herald Corp).

If something looks wrong with your booking

A KE flight number on a trip after December 17 is part of the switch rather than a mistake. If no notice reached you, or the times or seat on your booking look different, contact Asiana or Korean Air directly with your booking reference. For a refund or booking dispute the airline does not settle, Korea's consumer counselling line is 1372.

Our verdict

If your Asiana trip departs after December 17 and needs no changes, watch for the KE code notice. Act now if you fly Asiana in November or early December and need new dates, a special meal, assistance or a pet booking. Each freeze lasts up to 23 hours (47 for service requests), but reports do not say which day hits a given international flight. International migration finishes on December 3.

Quick links

• Money Today, October 26 (Korean): Asiana bookings paused up to 23 hours
• Herald Corp, September 14 (Korean): flight code changes from November 2 to December 3
• Prince of Travel, June 23: Star Alliance exit and mileage conversion
• Related: Incheon Airport to Seoul; lithium battery flight rules
• Korea Tourism Hotline (free 24/7 multilingual): 1330