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| A T'way Air aircraft/ Korea Times file |
T'way Air said Monday it will open an Incheon-Singapore route later this month, becoming the first Korean low-cost carrier to offer flights to the Southeast Asian country.
T'way will use an A330-300 on the route and provide two flights a week beginning May 28, the company said in a statement.
Inbound passengers are exempt from COVID-19 tests when they enter Singapore. And those who are fully vaccinated, as well as unvaccinated children under age 12, can travel to the country without a quarantine period, it said.
T'way Air has suspended most of its international routes since March 2020, after countries strengthened entry restrictions over the pandemic.
For the whole of 2021, its net losses deepened to 156.2 billion won ($122 million) from 137.8 billion won. Sales fell to 214.4 billion won last year from 269.2 billion won the previous year.
T'way Air plans to operate 20 large planes, as well as 30 midsized and small ones, by 2027 to achieve 3 trillion won in sales.
To prepare for post-pandemic demand, the carrier will bring in an average of four large planes a year through 2027 while introducing two Boeing 737-8 passenger jets, or 737-800 MAX planes, in the fourth quarter.
The company added two A330-300 chartered planes to its fleet early this year, with the third one set to arrive this week.
It aims to open services on routes to Hawaii, Sydney, Mongolia and Eastern Europe later this year, while planning to resume flights to Da Nang, Vietnam, and Bangkok later this month, and Ho Chi Minh City and other Southeast Asian cities next month.
Currently, the carrier has two A330-300 and 27 B737-800 chartered planes, and serves four international routes to Saipan and three Chinese cities ― Yanji, Wuhan and Jinan ― and six domestic routes. It served 47 international and three domestic routes in January 2020. (Yonhap)
