Korea's T'Way Air is serious: brand and livery all new. And to Rome from 2026 comes the A330-900
Raise your hand if you knew T'Way Air two years ago. Between us, very few hands would be raised even [...]
ICN
South Korea
Raise your hand if you knew two years ago. T'Way Air. Between us, very few hands would be raised even if the question were asked today. However, readers of The Flight Club have been able to follow South Korean carrier's evolution from a low-cost carrier engaged in domestic and regional routes in northeast Asia he company engaged with wide-body aircraft on the long haul, with a network now reaching Oceania, Europe and North America.
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How was this possible? Thank you to the deal that led Korean Air to 'nab' the country's second largest airline, Asiana. Competition authorities, among the compensation measures taken so as not to penalize passengers too much as a result of the merger of the country's two largest companies, ordered Korean Air to provide T'Way with a number of wide-body aircraft free of charge so that it could compete with Korean/Asiana on some long-haul routes from Seoul. And so it was.
Korean 'supplied' T'Way with 6 Airbus A330-200s, with which the latter began flying to Europe and Australia, also closely touching Italian passengers since the carrier began in August 2024 to fly to Rome Fiumicino as well.
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On the other hand, those who hear about T'Way Air for the first time in this article should know that, in a few months, they will not hear about it again, because the company's new owner, the Korean hotel group Daemyung Sono, announced that starting in the first half of 2026 the carrier will change its name and livery "in an effort to prepare it for further network and fleet expansion and to move it away from its low-cost reputation."
Thus, from 2026, T'Way Air will cease to exist and in its place will be Trinity Airways. On the planes, the red tail and fascia with the big 't'way' script will give way to an all-white livery (with a dark 'belly'), an elegant blue-gray 'Trinity' script, and a tail of the same color with a sort of 't' set in a blue, red, and yellow triangle. A 'clean-up' 'effort' by the brand that vaguely recalls The one operated a few months ago by the national carrier Korean air, which after so many years said goodbye to the historic so-called 'Pepsi livery'.
The group's plan is to reflect in the new identity T'Way/Trinity's role as a 'hybrid carrier', a hybrid carrier that combines low-cost operations on domestic and regional routes with a premium product on long-haul routes, complete with Business Class cabins and service and, on one of the Boeing 777-300ERs, even First Class.
Currently, T'Way's fleet includes 26 Boeing 737-800s and five 737 MAX 8s. (with 15 more on the way) used on domestic and regional short- to medium-haul routes, flanked by 6 Airbus A330-200s, 5 Airbus A330-300s, and 2 Boeing 777-300ERs on long-haul routes, with 5 Airbus A330-900s starting to arrive from next year. It is likely that the entry of the Daemyung Group as the new owner of the company will make the A330-900 order 'rise'.
The six A330-200s are the ones leased from Korean Air and are set up with 18 seats in Business Class (2-2-2) and 228 in Economy. The five A330-300s are. in a configuration of 12 seats in Business Class (2-2-2) and 335 in Economy (former Aeroflot) or in an even denser one with 12 seats in Business and 365 in Economy (formerly Air Asia X).
The two Boeing 777-300ERs have two different configurations: they are both ex-Cathay Pacific aircraft leased from Korean (which they never flew with): one is in an ultra-premium configuration with 8 seats in First Class (1-1-1), 53 in Business (1-2-1), 34 in Premium Economy (2-4-2) and 201 in Economy, while the second is in three classes with 40 seats in Business (1-2-1), 32 in Premium economy (2-4-2) and 296 in Economy. With the arrival of the A330-900s, the latter two aircraft will leave the fleet, which, at that point (at least on long-haul), will be all-Airbus.
The 777-300ERs are used (alongside A330-200s) on the daily connection between Seoul and Rome Fiumicino, as well as on some weekly frequencies to Paris (along with 330-200s) and Barcelona (also along with 330-200s). A330s are used on the other routes currently served: Frankfurt (330-200), Singapore (A330-300), Sydney (A330-300), Vancouver (A330-300), Tashkent (A330-200), and Zagreb (A330-200).
