T'way Air expands flights to Sydney as long-haul bet pays off

T'way Air's first long-haul route has become one of the budget carrier's biggest success stories, surpassing 400,000 cumulative passengers as the airline prepares to expand daily service between Incheon and Sydney later this year. The carrier said Friday that its Incheon-Sydney route has carried more than 400,000 passengers since launching in December 2022, underscoring steady demand for both leisure and business travel between Korea and Australia. The route has operated 1,350 flights since its debut and has transported an average of about 120,000 passengers a year. The airline said the service has consistently maintained an average load factor close to 90 percent, making it one of the company's strongest-performing long-haul routes. The milestone also reflects continued growth in exchanges between Korea and Australia following the pandemic, with the route supporting both passenger travel and cargo transportation, the airline said. Beyond passenger traffic, the route has become an increasingly important cargo corridor using the belly cargo capacity of the Airbus A330 aircraft. The airline