Korean Air Co. said Friday the cost of integrating Asiana Airlines Inc. could reach as much as 1 trillion won (US$654.02 million), with synergies from the merger expected to offset the expense as early as the end of 2028.

During an investor relations session in Seoul, the flag carrier said an analysis of its post-merger integration (PMI) strategy estimated integration costs at between 900 billion won and 1 trillion won, while annual synergy effects from the merger are projected to reach around 300 billion won.

“We expect the synergy effects could exceed the results of the PMI analysis,” Park Hee-don, a senior vice president at Korean Air, said.

“If things go well, we believe the integration costs could be fully offset sometime between the end of 2028 and early 2029,” he added.

The airline plans to complete the launch of the integrated carrier by Dec. 17, with the goal of becoming a global top 10 airline operating 230 aircraft and generating 23 trillion won in annual revenue.

Asked about the integration of the two airlines’ mileage programs, Korean Air said it hopes the process can be finalized without delay ahead of its shareholders’ meeting scheduled for August.

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