Korean Air said it will put an aircraft equipped with premium seats on the Incheon–Singapore route on the 17th, and the Fair Trade Commission is reportedly looking into a possible violation of the Act on the Fairness of Display and Advertising.
Premium seats are a mid-tier between business class (prestige class) and economy class. Korean Air promoted that the premium seats are 10% more expensive than economy but 1.5 times larger in area; however, the actual area is about 1.3 times larger and the price is more than 50% higher.
Korean Air planned to convert 11 of its 138 passenger aircraft, all Boeing 777-300ERs, to create premium seats. Those aircraft have a total of 291 seats — eight first class, 56 business class and 227 economy — and the plan was to remove first class and change the configuration to 328 seats: 40 business, 40 premium and 248 economy. Economy would change from the existing 3-3-3 layout to a 3-4-3 layout, adding 21 seats.
Korean Air estimated the total conversion expense at 300 billion won for the full fleet and converted one of the 11 aircraft first. But when consumers protested that the left-right spacing in economy would be reduced by about 3 cm and the Fair Trade Commission stepped in, the airline decided to keep the economy layout on the remaining 10 aircraft and operate only the one converted plane on the Singapore route.
The premium seats that Korean Air is introducing this time were the subject of an overstatement advertising controversy. Korean Air said the premium seats "provide about 1.5 times the area of a standard seat (economy)." The premium seats have a pitch of 39–41 inches (about 99.06–104.14 cm) and a seat width of 19.5 inches (49.53 cm), giving an area per seat of 760.5–799.5 square inches (about 4,906.44–5,158.05 cm²).
The existing economy seats have a pitch of 33–34 inches (83.82–86.36 cm) and a width of 18.1 inches (45.97 cm), giving an area per seat of 597.3–615.4 square inches (3,853.54–3,970.31 cm²). Compared with this area, the premium seats are 1.27–1.29 times larger. Compared with the "new economy" seats introduced alongside the premium seats, the area is 1.35–1.37 times larger because the new economy seats narrowed to a width of 17.1 inches (43.43 cm).
Korean Air said premium fares are about 10% higher than standard fares, but actual tickets are up to 53% more expensive depending on the fare class (round-trip basis). Korean Air divides classes by services such as ticket changes, refunds and seat selection into saver, standard and flex. Saver is the cheapest and flex is the most expensive fare.
For a round-trip itinerary departing Incheon on Oct. 22 and returning on Oct. 26, the premium seat standard fare is 870,000 won and flex is 1,840,000 won. For the same schedule in standard economy, standard is 710,000 won and flex is 1,200,000 won. Using standard for both classes, premium is 23% more expensive than economy; using flex for comparison, the premium fare is 53% higher.
Under the current Act on the Fairness of Display and Advertising, businesses must not make false or exaggerated displays or advertisements that deceive consumers or may cause consumers to misunderstand, and violations are punishable by up to two years in prison or a fine of up to 150 million won.
When the Fair Trade Commission approved the merger of Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, it imposed remedial measures on 40 of the 87 overlapping international and domestic routes the two corporations operate where competition concerns were significant — 26 international and 14 domestic routes.
Behavioral measures included prohibitions on fare increases beyond the rate of inflation since 2019, prohibitions on reducing available seats to below 90% of 2019 levels, prohibitions on disadvantageous changes to mileage programs, and obligations to maintain service quality such as providing free baggage.
The Fair Trade Commission said it intends to closely examine the impact of Korean Air's policy changes on consumers. Ju Biung-ghi, nominee for Fair Trade Commission chairman, also said at a recent confirmation hearing that he would look at multiple issues, not only seat reductions but also concerns about reduced consumer welfare.
A Fair Trade Commission official said, "We cannot disclose specific details about matters currently under investigation. We are continuously monitoring changes such as airfare increases and declines in service quality."