T'way Air Co., Ltd. () — formerly Hansung Airlines — is a

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

low-cost airline A low-cost carrier (LCC) or low-cost airline, also called a budget, or discount carrier or airline, is an airline that is operated with an emphasis on minimizing operating costs. It sacrifices certain traditional airline luxuries for cheaper fa ...

based in Seongsu-dong, Seongdong-gu,

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

. It operates scheduled domestic, regional and long-haul flights from its two bases at

Gimpo Gimpo (; ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It borders Incheon, with which it shares the South Korean side of the Han River (Korea), Han River estuary, as well as Seoul and the lesser cities o ...

and

Incheon Incheon is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. As of February 2020, ...

History

Foundation as Hansung Airlines

T'Way's predecessor, ''Hansung Airlines'' (), first obtained an

air operator's certificate An air operator's certificate (AOC) is the approval granted by a civil aviation authority (CAA) to an aircraft operator to allow it to use aircraft for commercial air transport purposes. This requires the operator to have personnel, assets and s ...

(AOC) in April 2005 and received its first aircraft, an

ATR 72 The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR. The number "72" in its name is derived from the aircraft's typical standard seating capacity of 72 pa ...

for its inaugural domestic services between

Cheongju Cheongju (; ) is the capital and largest list of cities in South Korea, city of North Chungcheong Province in South Korea. The 'Cheong' in the name of Chungcheong Province is the Cheong of Cheongju. History Cheongju has been an important prov ...

and Jeju shortly after. Hansung Airlines had planned to expand to international routes and subsequently ordered 20

ATR 72-500 The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR. The number "72" in its name is derived from the aircraft's typical standard seating capacity of 72 pa ...

aircraft. However, due to financial difficulties, Hansung Airlines ceased operations in 2009.

Relaunching as T'way Air

Hansung Airlines was subsequently reorganized and rebranded in 2010 after its shutdown. The 't' in T'way stands for ''together'', ''today'' and ''tomorrow''. The airline was established on 8 August 2010 with two

Boeing 737-800 The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG, or 737 Next Gen, is a twinjet, twin-engine narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third-generation derivative of the Boeing 737, it ha ...

aircraft. The following month, the airline obtained a new air operator's certificate permitting domestic operations and commenced scheduled flights between

Gimpo International Airport Gimpo International Airport , sometimes referred to as Seoul–Gimpo International Airport but formerly rendered in English as Kimpo International Airport, is located in the far western end of Seoul, some west of the Jung District, Seoul, cen ...

and

Jeju International Airport Jeju International Airport is the second-largest airport in South Korea, just behind Incheon Airport in Incheon near Seoul. It is located in Jeju City. Operations Jeju International Airport, which opened in 1968, serves many mainland destin ...

. In 2011, an additional AOC for international operations was granted. In October of the same year, T'way launched its first international service, to

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

. In 2013, the airline achieved a profit for the first time. In November that year, cargo services were launched. As of 2019, it was the third largest Korean

low-cost carrier A low-cost carrier (LCC) or low-cost airline, also called a budget, or discount carrier or airline, is an airline that is operated with an emphasis on minimizing operating costs. It sacrifices certain traditional airline luxuries for cheaper fa ...

in the international market, having carried 2.9 million domestic passengers and 4.2 million international passengers the year prior. Its international traffic had quadrupled in the three years leading up to 2019. In April 2022, T'way received its first

Airbus A330 The Airbus A330 is a wide-body airliner developed and produced by Airbus. Airbus began developing larger A300 derivatives in the mid–1970s, giving rise to the A330 twinjet as well as the Airbus A340 quadjet, and launched both designs along ...

. In October 2022, T'way announced a route from Seoul to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, which is its first long-haul connection. In October 2024, the airline inaugurated flights to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

with a route between Seoul and

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, which it had been granted due to a concession deal as part of the merger between Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, which both serve Frankfurt. In the same month, the airline announced it plans to lease

Boeing 777-300ER The Boeing 777, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven, is an American long haul, long-range Wide-body aircraft, wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The 777 is the world's largest twinjet and the mo ...

aircraft to facilitate its expansion plans until the delivery of its new

Airbus A330neo The Airbus A330neo ("neo" for " New Engine Option") is a wide-body airliner developed by Airbus from the original Airbus A330 (now A330''ceo'' – "Current Engine Option"). A new version with modern engines comparable with those developed fo ...

Destinations

, T'way Air flies (or has flown) to the following destinations:

Codeshare agreements

T'way Air have

codeshare A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...

and with the following airlines: *

Eastar Jet Eastar Jet (ESR; ) is a South Korean low-cost carrier with its headquarters in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. History Eastar Jet was established on October 26, 2007, and its air operator's certificate was acquired the following year on August 6. On Janua ...

* Tigerair Taiwan T'way Air have interline agreements with the following airlines: *

Virgin Australia Virgin Australia, formerly known as Virgin Blue, is an Australian airline based in Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of two active airlines (the other being Virgin Atlantic) to use the Virgin Group, Virgin brand, as well as the larger by fleet ...

Fleet

Current fleet

, T'way Air operates the following aircraft:

Former fleet

T'way Air and its predecessor Hansung Airlines previously operated the following aircraft:

References

External links

* {{IATA members, asia Airlines of South Korea Airlines established in 2004 Airlines established in 2010 Companies based in Seoul South Korean brands Low-cost carriers of South Korea South Korean companies established in 2010 South Korean companies established in 2004