Review: T’way Air Airbus A330-200 – Jeju to Seoul Gimpo

This is review details my experience on a T’way Air Airbus A330-200 in June 2024. You can read my much more detailed full trip report of this flight by clicking here.

About the Airline

Expectations

Pre-Flight Experience

I was delighted to find that booking via T’way Air’s website was a painless experience that left me with no complaints. I found the airline’s website to be modern, quick to load and easy to navigate, available in English alongside several East Asian languages. Of course, being a low cost carrier, I was required to slalom past a few unnecessary optional extras during the booking process. Unfortunately, as is the norm with Korean airlines, I was unable to pay for my flights with an American Express card – with Korean Air being the only Korean carrier that currently accepts these.

Whilst T’way Air enables passengers to check-in online up to 24 hours before departure, upon trying this, I found online check-in not to work. Usually, checking in online for Korean domestic services is a quick and easy process and it may well be the case that these issues stem from the Airbus A330-200’s integration into T’way Air’s system.

Costs

Airport Experience

Once at the airport, I made a beeline for the Jeju International Airport’s large domestic check-in hall. Once there, I soon spotted T’way Air’s well-branded check-in zone where a total of six desks were available for passengers departing on all the airline’s flights. Seeing as these were entirely devoid of queues and fully manned, I made my way over to these, however, seeing as I lacked any hold luggage, the staff member guarding the entrance to check-in instead pointed me in the direction of the self-check-in machines. Fortunately, using these was quick and easy, and I soon received my receipt-style boarding pass.

When it came to boarding, this was a quick and efficient process, however, this was not undertaken in any particular order, with all passengers invited to board the aircraft at the same time.

Seat and Cabin

Given the lack of online reviews of T’way Air’s Airbus A330-200 at the time of my flight, I wasn’t quite too sure what to expect from the aircraft’s interior. On the one hand, I was sceptical that there would have been a complete reconfiguration from the jet’s days with Korean Air. However, seat maps on T’way Air’s website displayed a much smaller premium cabin than those of Korean Air’s Airbus A330-200s. Meanwhile, with just 188 Economy seats, and thus one less than T’way Air’s Boeing 737-800s, I couldn’t help but think that Korean Air’s layout was far from ideal for a low cost carrier!

Once onboard all was revealed, and my initial suspicions had been correct. The Airbus’ cabin was identical to that of a Korean Air Airbus A330-200, except for the replacement of the Business Class seats’ fabric covers (these were now brown instead of turquoise), and the addition of T’way Air disposable antimacassars.

In Economy, seats were arranged in the Airbus A330 standard 2-4-2 layout, and each was covered in Korean Air’s somewhat dull fabric, with these sporting either a dark blue or brown cover with a repeating isometric pattern. Each seat came with an adjustable headrest, along with a now slightly dated inflight entertainment screen accompanied by a chunky controller, a bifold tray table, a coat hook and a cup holder. Meanwhile, power was provided in the form of both a USB port and an under-seat universal power outlet, both of which worked without issue.

As I have found to be the norm on Korean Air aircraft, the seat came with buckets of legroom and was also soft and comfortable. Needless to say, those who were expecting a cramped low cost carrier ride back to the capital would have been pleasantly surprised! In addition, the cabin seemed to be spotlessly clean and whilst a few signs of wear could be seen, these were for the most part, minimal. Thus, I would have absolutely no qualms sitting in the seat on one of T’way Air’s long flights to Europe.

No amenities such as pillows and blankets were provided or expected, and being a low cost airline, these are sold to passengers on longer services. Looking at the t’shop catalogue, a T’way Air branded ‘Travel Kit’ is sold for a very reasonable 12,000 won (£6.80) which includes slippers, ear plugs, an eye mask and an inflatable neck support pillow.

Lavatories

Making a quick lavatory trip before departure, I found this to be clean and largely devoid of any major signs of wear and tear. Furthermore, this was stocked with the basics and I could not find any major reason to complain.

Inflight Entertainment

Very little by means of entertainment was provided, with the inflight entertainment screens remaining unusable for the duration of the flight, and no wifi offered onboard. The airline did however provide a fairly decent inflight magazine, which is published in partnership with National Geographic Korea and features articles on a range of travel-related topics. However, I should note that this was almost entirely published in Korean and thus clearly aimed at the local market rather than those simply visiting Korea.

Catering

Since April 2023, T’way Air has suspended inflight sales on their domestic services and so nothing was offered on the short flight to Seoul. Looking at the menu, were I to have flown on the airline on a longer service, I could have purchased a range of items including snacks, drinks and hot meals. Additionally, it is worth noting that a slightly more expansive range of items was on offer compared to in Air. As per the below, these were all priced at a fairly standard rate for a Korean low cost carrier, being neither extortionate nor notably cheap.

Crew

Upon boarding and disembarkation, I received a gush of friendly welcomes and farewells, however, interaction once in the skies was largely minimal as the crew remained in the galleys for much of this. This could perhaps be explained by the assumption that this was a familiarisation flight and so many crew members were perhaps required to undertake mandatory training onboard. I should also note that, unlike most Korean airlines, all announcements other than safety announcements and the Captain’s midflight speech were undertaken in Korean only.

Summary

To be honest, had this flight taken place on one of T’way Air’s Boeing 737-800s, I would have probably been left with very neutral feelings about the airline. Overall the journey proved to be a very middle-of-the-road experience, and I was left with no major negatives or positives to report back on. However, I did find T’way Air’s Airbus A330-200 to offer a very comfortable ride thanks to the fact that on the inside, this was still very much a Korean Air jet.

With my experience considered, I would probably fly with T’way Air again if the price was right, however, I definitely would not pay a premium or go out of my way to fly with them on one of their international services.