T'way Air sole carrier to suffer loss in Q3

T’way Air reported a third-quarter operating loss of 7.1b won ($5.1m), Wednesday, due to excessive spending on expanding its European routes, making it the only local low-cost carrier (LCC) to incur a loss during the period. T’way’s Q3 cost of sales came in at 363.4b won, up 28.7% from a year earlier. Despite the sales growth, the airline reported an operating loss of 2.2b won compared to the previous quarter. T’way’s operating loss is attributed to the launch of its first-ever European routes, as part of a precondition for Korean Air’s transfer of four European routes to T’way. The European Commission granted partial approval for Korean Air’s takeover of Asiana Airlines on the condition that four aviation routes from Incheon to Frankfurt, Paris, Rome and Barcelona be transferred to T’way. “T’way is not ready to operate stable European routes, which may have led the airline to engage in aggressive spending,” an official from a local LCC said.<br/>