It is rather impressive how Milan Malpensa Airport has been able to intercept and attract major carriers, despite not being a hub for a full-service airline. The latest flight to serve Milan-Malpensa (MXP) is Asiana Airlines with flight OZ581/OZ582. This new service will be three times weekly, but it does hide a monopoly on the direct non-stop flights between Seoul and Milan.
In this post:
- OZ581 Milan to Seoul flight details
- Another long-haul flight won over by Milan-Malpensa.
- The hidden monopoly the Korean Air created
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Flight OZ581/OZ582 Seoul to Milan Details
The new Asiana Airlines flight from Seoul to Milan launched on March 31, 2026. It will operate on a three times weekly frequency. The schedule for the flight, which will operate on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday is as follows:
| Flight Number | Departure Airport | Airport Code | Departure Time | Arrival Airport | Airport Code | Arrival Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OZ581 | Seoul | ICN | 13:45 | Milan | MXP | 20:00 |
| OZ582 | Milan | MXP | 22:00 | Seoul | ICN | 16:35+1 |
The airline has chosen to operate the flight using one of its many A350-900s, which deal with most of Asiana’s long-haul network to Europe. Asiana’s A350-900s are set up with the two-class configuration featuring:
- 28 business class seats, in a 1-2-1 configuration
- 283 economy class seats in a 3-3-3 configuration
Milan Malpensa wins over another long haul flight
Despite not being a hub to any full-service airline, Milan Malpensa has proven to be very capable in attracting new services, particularly long-haul ones.
Now, among routes served from Milan-Malpensa, is also OZ581/OZ582 operating to Seoul Incheon (ICN).
There is one thing to point out about the new service, though. Asiana has recently been acquired by Korean Air and the HanJin Group.
And rather than looking at this new Asiana Airlines service to Milan as a brand new flight, I think it’s more appropriate to look at it as an integration to the currently operating Korean Air flight KE928. Let me explain that a little bit more.
The hidden monopoly on non-stop Milan to Seoul flight
As I was mentioning in the previous section, the new flight OZ581/OZ582 will be pretty much an integration of the currently operating Korean Air KE928 flight.
Korean Air and Asiana will not be going into direct competition on the route. They have carefully avoided doing so. Even the departure time from Milan Malpensa is exactly the same between flights OZ582 and KE928.
Asiana will be operating its flight on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturdays, while Korean Air will be operating on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.
The two carriers will therefore be creating a monopoly on non-stop services between Milan and Seoul. They will be hiding it from the passengers that are not into aviation news and do not know that Asiana and Korean Air are part of the same group now.
It is, in simple terms, a hidden monopoly.
| Feature | Korean Air (KE928) | Asiana Airlines (OZ582) |
|---|---|---|
| Days of Operation | Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun | Tue, Thu, Sat |
| Weekly Frequency | 4x Weekly | 3x Weekly |
| Typical Aircraft | Boeing 787-10 / 777-300ER | Airbus A350-900 |
| Departure (MXP) | ~22:00 (10:00 PM) | ~22:00 (10:00 PM) |
| Arrival (ICN) | ~16:30 (+1 day) | ~16:40 (+1 day) |