Korean Air Lines will restore the reduced number of captain promotions to the original level. The move takes into account internal pushback and the increased number of pilots following the merger with Asiana Airlines. The expansion in headcount is set to take effect after the merger in December.
According to Korean Air Lines on the 10th, the company is pushing a plan to increase the annual number of captain promotions from the current 120 to 168 starting at the end of this year, when it merges with Asiana Airlines.
Captain promotions are made among first officers who have accumulated a certain period of experience and meet requirements such as flight hours, takeoff and landing counts, and an airline transport pilot license, in line with the number of promotions and according to seniority.
Until last month, the annual number of captain promotions at Korean Air Lines was 144. However, citing difficulties in securing new first officers, the company had decided to reduce promotions starting this month.
The reduction in personnel stems from the extended mandatory service period for fixed-wing (fighter and transport aircraft) pilots who did not graduate from the Air Force Academy.
Starting with officers commissioned in the second half of 2015, the Air Force extended the mandatory service period from 10 years to 13 years. As a result, those who would have been discharged in the second half of 2025 and hired as first officers by civilian airlines are serving longer, creating a temporary gap in pilot supply.
In short, keeping the number of promotions to captain unchanged when there are too few first officers creates an imbalance. But Korean Air Lines decided to increase captain promotions again as internal backlash intensified. The decision also considered that about 530 first officers from Asiana Airlines will be absorbed through the merger.
Korean Air Lines will promote 168 people a year to captain starting at the end of the year. Given that Korean Air Lines promoted 144 annually before the reduction and Asiana Airlines also promoted 24 first officers a year to captain until the merger decision, the company is effectively maintaining the previous scale of promotions.
A Korean Air Lines official said, "We manage the required number of captains flexibly, taking into account aircraft plans, business volume, and other factors," adding, "Before the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, the annual figure was in the 72–96 range, but over the past three years we expanded it to an annual average of about 120."