T'way Air: The Korean Low-Cost Carrier That Discovered Europe with the Airbus A330

From regional low-cost carrier to an airline with intercontinental ambitions

For years T'way Air operated as a typical Korean low-cost carrier, focused on domestic and short-haul leisure routes to Japan and Southeast Asia. The turning point came with the introduction of the Airbus A330-200, partly coming from Korean Air's retired fleet, used to launch direct links to Europe never before attempted by a South Korean low-cost carrier on this scale.

The fleet

The fleet remains mostly Boeing 737-800s on short and medium-haul routes, with the addition of the A330-200 (and, in prospect, more modern versions of the A330neo family) dedicated exclusively to long-haul European routes. It is a mixed configuration uncommon among low-cost carriers, reflecting the airline's strategy of selective expansion.

Routes and network

The European routes already launched connect Incheon to Frankfurt, Paris, Rome and Barcelona, with growing frequencies: Frankfurt went from four weekly flights to a daily service during 2025. The airline has expressed interest in further destinations such as Budapest, Prague and Istanbul, cities increasingly popular with South Korean travelers, while on some routes such as Paris the use of the larger Boeing 777-300ER is planned.

What passengers say

• Appreciated: the chance to reach Europe at lower fares than full-service carriers, a network novelty that generates curiosity among Korean travelers.
• To weigh carefully: a long-haul onboard product still less mature than that of full-service airlines, frequencies not yet daily on all European routes in the launch phase.

T'way Air can be a good deal if you want to reach Europe from South Korea while saving compared with full-service fares and do not have high expectations of the long-haul onboard product. It is less suitable if you need guaranteed daily frequencies on every route, since the European network is still being consolidated.

Always check which aircraft is planned on your European route when booking: between the A330-200 and the 777-300ER the cabin configuration changes noticeably.