Flying with T'way Airlines (Review) - Day 13 in South Korea

As soon as we got out of Yongduam Health Land for an overnight stay, we immediately took a taxi to the airport which was almost just 5 minutes away from the jjimjilbang. We were an hour early for our flight and I was pretty positive that nothing could go wrong, just like our flight with Jeju Air.

T'way Airlines (티웨이항공) is a low-cost airline based in Seoul that offers scheduled flights between Jeju to Seoul and vice versa. They also have international flights going to and from Thailand, Japan, and Taiwan.

T'way Airlines

As I was able to share on my previous posts, we booked using their website that is entirely in Korean. You may use my guide on here and here. The booking process was very direct and flight confirmation was sent to my e-mail afterwards. I wish they could have an English version of the site for non-Korean speakers, but the site is also available in Japanese and Chinese. By signing up to their website, you could also receive updates on their promo fares. I was able to receive an automatic e-mail from them this week and they have a promo of Incheon to Fukouka for only 40,000 won all-in. They really have cheap fares!

T'way Site

Once we have arrived at the check-in queue, there were lots of people who have lined up already! I was able to hear some complaints from locals about the long line as well. I heard from the staff that the flight of the Chinese tourists who were in a tour group were to depart 10:30 AM but they were already checking around 7AM! Talk about being too excited. I was really pissed off because the queue was really long and some of these people were even letting more of their friends sneak in in the waiting line! When it was our turn to check in, we only had ten minutes before our plane leaves! Uh oh!

A sample check-in queue of T'way

The staff refused at first to let us take the flight as they stopped boarding already, but then I explained that we were there earlier (in Korean! haha I'm surprised I was able to argue with a local fluently, adrenalin rush maybe). After talking with with some boarding staff, she then asked me "Can you run?" WTF! We did not check in our bags since they have completed loading the baggage for the rest of the passengers. I felt like I was in "Amazing Race Jeju Edition" that time, running all the way to T'way Airlines' boarding gate from the check in queue! It was ENTIRE CHAOS I tell you, so please prepare for lots of extra time when checking in especially during the morning. Even though we were in the express lane, it took us almost an hour! Still, T'way's staff were very helpful and patiently waited for us to catch the our flight.

T'way's Boarding Gate last December 2012, how cute!

Like Jeju Air, they were also not that strict with baggage. I remember seeing that they allow 10 kg carry-on and 15 kg for checked-ins but in our case and as what I have noticed with other Koreans who lined up with us on the same queue, they were not given a fee for overweight luggage. I have no idea though if this is also the case if you are departing from Incheon or Seoul as I have a feeling it will be more strict there.

Nope, no snow when we had our flight, just a sample pic :)

The plane was able to depart five minutes later its scheduled time. There were English instructions as well which surprised me a bit as my flight with Jeju Air had all of the instructions in Korean, and given that T'way's website had only Korean texts, it was also unexpected that everyone in the crew speaks good English. There were no free meals of course with T'way being a budget airline. But they had complimentary drinks (juice or water, no coffee though) that helped soothe my tensed muscles (I was still hyped from running to catch this flight).

I was able to sleep able throughout the entire flight. Being driven out by our host, the jjimjilbang sleeping experience and stress from the queue was too much for me to handle that time. The claiming of baggage was a breeze though, I was able to claim mine not more than 5 minutes after arriving at the luggage claim station at Gimpo airport in Seoul.

T'way Airlines' Grade: (5 as highest, 1 as the lowest)

Site's ease of use: 3 – T'way Airlines' site was pretty straightforward - but only for those who understood Korean. I guess foreigners would have to book via their call center to be able to speak with an English-speaking representative (but I haven't tried this yet so I may not be able to help you on this), or better yet, use my guide for creating an account to their website and finally booking your flight online. Credit cards are accepted. I'd still say though that T'way is one of the airlines that has cheapest fares domestically around Korea.

Customer service/Staff: 3.5 – I probably would have given a lower score because of the troubles during our check in but their very nice staff was able to compensate for this. I guess they just have to make improvements with their check in queue.

Flight: 5 - I had no problems with our flying experience from Jeju to Seoul with this airline. It was just a bit noisy that time during the flight, but hey, try flying with Cebu Pacific and you would know better.

Price: 5 – The fare that we got was around 35,000 won per person and we booked this two weeks before our flight so it was not really bad, slash that, it was perfect!

To end this post, I would gladly suggest flying with T'way Airlines especially if you're on a tight budget (like me), just make sure to be extra early during check in. For flight bookings, you may contact 852-2185-6499 or go to their website here http://www.twayair.com.

All pictures were borrowed from T'way's Facebook page.

T'way crew having some fun ala Gangnam Style while introducing their promo fares to Jeju

Follow my footsteps in South Korea!

Day 1: Gangwon-do Chuncheon and Nami Island	Day 2: Gangwon-do Mt.Seorak (Seoraksan)	Day 3: Gyeonggi-do Yongin and Food Tour	Day 4: Gyeonggi-do Suwon: Hwaseong Fortress, Korean Folk Village	Day 5: Gyeonggi-do Everland	Day 6: Gyeongju Food Tour	Day 7: Gyeongju Seokguram Grotto Bulguksa Temple Cheomseongdae and Anapji Pond
Day 8: Busan Railway Train in Korea	Day 9: Busan Igidae Coast Busan Fireworks Festival	Day 10: Busan Haedong Yonggungsa Temple Flying with Jeju Air	Day 11: Jeju (E) Food Tour- Altang Dragon Rock Jusangjeolli Cliff Teddy Bear Museum The Seaes Resort	Day 12: Jeju (W) Sunrise Peak Seopjikoji Trick Art Folk Village Sangamburi Crater, Mt.Halla Manjanggul Cave, Maze Park Jjimjilbang	Day 13: Seoul Flying with T'way Airlines Couchsurfing in Korea	Day 14: Seoul Palaces and Bukchon Village
Day 15&16: Seoul Myeongdong and Ewha University N Seoul Tower	Booking Flights via T'way Airlines	Travel Report for South Korea 16 days travel itinerary and tips