The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Wednesday it agreed with the two flag carriers to revise their frequent flier mileage policies "to accommodate customers."

Korean Air and Asiana Airlines have promised to make it easier for customers to use their frequent-flier miles in peak season by allocating more than five percent of available seats to them.

At the moment carriers are not obligated to set aside seats for customers using airmiles and they allocate seats on an available-only basis. But from next year they will have to allocate more than five percent of available seats per flight to mileage customers and show how many are available every three months.

Also, canceling tickets booked on airline miles at least 91 days before departure will no longer incur penalties. Currently 3,000 miles are docked from their points regardless of the timing.

The ministry also asked carriers to find more ways for customers who with fewer than 5,000 airmiles to use their mileage, and lower deducted points for short-haul flights to Japan and Southeast Asia.

Of airmiles set to expire next year, some 30 percent or W100 billion worth have gone unused so far because there is often no way to redeem them.

