As a result the Kumho Group created Seoul Air International, which started flying in December 1988 with flights to Busan. Kumho started as a tyre company in 1960, moved into buses in 1967, then car hire, and still owns 45% of the company. The airline also rapidly changed its name to the current Asiana, as a result of a US film in development at the time, called Soul Air (about a group of musicians on a plane).
In July 1993, in its most serious accident to date, an Asiana 737 crashed in a violent storm while making its third landing attempt at Mokpo Airport. 68 passengers and crew died.
The airline expanded rapidly, initially short haul, and then further afield. It initially had great difficulty establishing itself at London Heathrow, which as a destination it had long viewed as a goal, and eventually had to buy four landing slots a week – a reason why it still doesn’t operate a daily service to Heathrow.
In 1998, the company was hit hard by the Asian financial crisis, and rapidly retrenched. At the same time an Asiana Airlines Boeing 747 hit an Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-62M at Anchorage in Alaska. For many years while a court battle raged over compensation, the Russian aircraft could be seen at the airport, still with a large part of the Asiana wing embedded in its tail.
In 2006, Asiana Airlines brought its corporate identity into line with those of other divisions of its parent company the Kumho Asiana Group, changing the livery of the planes, and Colours of the seating classes to yellow, blue and red for First, Business, and Travel Class, respectively. The change of name from Economy to Travel was also introduced at the same time, causing endless confusion at its launch.