T'way Air becomes first Korean budget carrier to fly to Europe with Zagreb route

T'way Air announced the launch of the Incheon-Zagreb route on Wednesday. [T'WAY AIR]

T'way Air will start flying regularly between Incheon and Zagreb, Croatia, from May, marking its debut European flight preceding its assumption of the four overlapping European routes from the proposed Korean Air-Asiana Airlines merger.

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The new Zagreb route will operate three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, starting from May 16. The flights will be serviced by A330-300 aircraft with a capacity of up to 347 seats.

Departures are scheduled at Incheon International Airport at 11:05 a.m. and arrivals at Zagreb International Airport at 7:25 p.m., totaling approximately 15 hours including a layover at Bishkek Airport in Kyrgyzstan, for refueling on the way to Zagreb. Return flights will operate without a layover, departing from Zagreb International Airport at 8:55 p.m. and reaching Incheon International Airport the following day at 2:50 p.m., with an estimated flight duration of 11 hours.

Fares for the Incheon-Zagreb route start from 461,000 won ($345) for event fares, opening for sale at 10 a.m. on Thursday.

"We anticipate that the launch of this new European route will foster increased tourism and business exchanges between Korea and Croatia," a T'way Air official said.

This development positions T'way Air as the first Korean low-cost carrier to fly into European airspace.

T'way Air is set to take over four additional European routes — Frankfurt, Barcelona, Rome, and Paris — as part of remedy measures to address competition concerns from the proposed merger between Korean Air and Asiana Airlines. These routes are expected to gradually begin operations in the second half of the year. The Zagreb route will serve as an opportunity to assess T'way Air's long-haul operational capabilities before expanding to operate the other four routes.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]