While my fellow aviation bloggers may write about the “business plus” products offered on Condor, Virgin Atlantic, Air France, or Asiana, let me introduce you to the equivalent product offered by Korean low-cost carrier, T’Way Air.
Korean airline T’Way Air operates ex-Cathay Pacific 777s
South Korean airline T’Way Air is a low-cost airline based in Seoul, with bases in both Gimpo and Incheon. The airline started flying longhaul in 2022, after receiving its first A330 from Thai AirAsia X. The airline now operates 11 A330s to various European destinations, and these A330s make up the backbone of their longhaul fleet.
T’Way Air A330
If you’ve flown Korean Air’s A330, T’Way Air has an identical product on most of their A330s (they actually inherited six of their A330s from Korean Air) – these are B/E Minipod seats. The A330s fly to destinations such as Frankfurt, Rome, and Paris, as well as running shorthaul routes to Hong Kong, Osaka, Fukuoka, etc..
However, T’Way Air acquired two 777s in 2025, which belong to Cathay Pacific. The airline didn’t reconfigure the aircraft they received from Cathay Pacific, so kept Cathay’s interiors. One of the aircraft features Cathay’s longhaul configuration with first class, and one of the aircraft features Cathay’s longhaul configuration without first class (as you’d expect, neither of the planes feature Cathay Pacific’s new Aria Suite). These aircraft were originally registered B-KQK and B-KQE, and now have registrations HL8706 and HL8707, respectively.
T’Way Air’s 777s inherited Cathay Pacific’s reverse herringbone seats
You can fly T’Way Air’s ex-Cathay first class for a modest premium
At the moment, T’Way Air’s 777 with first class operates between Seoul and Barcelona, as well as a few intra-Asia destinations (Osaka and Fukuoka are most frequented). I had a look at rates you’d get in T’Way business class from Barcelona to Seoul. KRW 2,144,380 is £1,093 (HK$11,603), which for business class on a 12h 20m flight is…not bad. (For the record, the 14h 55m Seoul-Barcelona flight is going for £932/HK$9,889, and a roundtrip is going for £1,871/HK$19,851; while you can tag on a flight from Hong Kong, Osaka, or Fukuoka without bringing the fare up by much, the cheapest option is to fly directly out of Seoul.)
There’s no seat selection fee if you’re flying business class, though you can get a “business premium” seat for KRW 270,000 (£138/HK$1,461).
That’s really cool, as this “business premium zone” is actually Cathay Pacific’s first class seat, which the airline has on their 777s.
Cathay Pacific’s 777 First Class / T’Way 777 “Business Premium”
Of course, the above pictures have Cathay Pacific’s first class bedding, which you won’t find on T’Way, even in “Business Premium”. However, the seat is the same, which must be one of the best business class products in the sky (even if you count other “business plus” products on other airlines).
£1,070 for 14h 55m in Cathay Pacific’s first class seat from Seoul to Barcelona? Yes please! Do note that of course there could be an aircraft swap closer to the time, and this T’Way 777 is currently only rota’ed on until the end of March on that route.
For the record, the other 777 frequents the route to Rome. While that 777 doesn’t feature first class seats, I’d still consider T’Way to have very attractive pricing on the Seoul-Rome route, particularly since Cathay Pacific’s previous-generation reverse herringbone seat is still very good.
While less of an amazing deal, getting this on a 14h flight from Seoul to Rome is still very good
You can also get a great deal on a premium economy seat
While I’m chatting about premium zones on T’Way Air, economy class also has a “premium zone”, which is effectively Cathay Pacific’s old 777 premium economy. This is available on both 777s, so would be an option on the Seoul-Rome flights as well.
A promo rate flight from Seoul to Barcelona averages around 428,400 KRW (£218/HK$2,316), and you can select a Super Premium Zone seat for KRW 190,000 (£97/HK$1,027). Compare that to British Airways, where selecting a premium economy seat on a premium economy ticket also costs around as much!
The combined total of £315 must be one of the cheapest ways to travel one-way from Asia to Europe in a premium economy seat. T’Way does serve one small meal in economy, though it’ll otherwise be a no-frills experience.
Cathay Pacific’s 777 premium economy (or T’Way’s 777 Super Premium Zone economy)
Zac from Points from the Pacific reviewed this plane when it was flying between Seoul and Jeju, and it seemed like there was no inflight entertainment loaded on those planes (the screen simply showed that you could call a flight attendant over). Anyone know if that’s the case on T’Way’s longhaul flights as well? Can you turn the screen off if you want to sleep? Do the power ports work?
Looks like I’ve gotta try T’Way Air soon
I’m highly invested in finding the best affordable premium products between Asia and Europe. While these mainly revolve around premium economy products, I’d be missing something from the picture if I didn’t review premium cabins on airlines such as T’Way Air. These can represent an amazing value, giving a flat bed in business class for marginally more than premium economy.
It’s absolutely possible to fly in comfort by positioning from Hong Kong to Seoul and Barcelona to London, and flying T’Way Air (first class, ex-Korean Air A330, or otherwise) in between Seoul and Barcelona, and maybe I should be entertaining these options more often. The only downside is that low-cost airlines such as T’Way Air usually have a very limited number of airline partners, so I wouldn’t be able to meaningfully earn any miles for the flight.
T’Way Air’s A330 business class, which runs most of their longhaul routes, is still very good value
Conclusion
T’Way Air represents a good-value product from Asia to Europe generally, though this value is inflated if you manage to get on one of their ex-Cathay Pacific 777s in business class. The best thing is that (if available) you can assign a “Business Premium Zone” seat, which is a Cathay Pacific first class seat repurposed for T’Way Air. You can also get a premium economy seat when flying economy, which must be one of the best-value ways to travel from Asia to Europe in a recliner seat, as it’ll only set you back ~£315 including the seating upcharge.
Have you flown T’Way Air longhaul before? Did you get one of their ex-Cathay 777s? How was your experience?
