T'way Air, a South Korean low-cost carrier, said Friday it will open four new routes to Europe this year, taking over the four redundant passenger routes of Korean Air Co. under its planned integration with Asiana Airlines Inc. In February, the European Union (EU)'s antitrust regulator conditionally approved a merger between the two Korean full-service carriers, clearing a major hurdle in their consolidation process. In a bid to win the European Commission's approval, the companies decided to sell Asiana's cargo business and divest passenger flight routes to the four European cities, and reported the remedial measures to the commission in November. To avoid any monopoly issues, T'way Air was designated as an alternative carrier for four routes operated by Korean Air to European cities -- Rome, Barcelona, Frankfurt and Paris -- the company said in a statement. T'way plans to provide three flights per week both on the Incheon-Rome route from Aug. 8 and on the Incheon-Barcelona route from Sept. 11. Routes f rom Incheon to Frankfurt and Paris are scheduled to open in October and within this year, the statement said. As for the Paris route, the French and Korean governments agreed last month to temporarily allow three Korean carriers to offer services on the route until the integration process is completed, according to the transport ministry. Korean Air had been the sole Korean carrier offering flights to Paris for 34 years since 1974, when the two nations signed an aviation agreement. Since 2008, two carriers -- Korean Air and Asiana -- have been allowed to fly to Paris. Korean Air, the national flag carrier, has so far obtained approval from 13 countries and regions and is waiting for the final approval from the United States. As of June, T'way Air had 32 chartered passenger jets -- 26 B737-800NGs, two B737-8s, three A330-300s, and one A330-200 -- to offer flights on four domestic and 49 international routes to Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, Guam, Saipan, Mongolia and the Philippines. The budget carrier current ly operates one European route to Croatia, which opened on May 16. Source: Yonhap News Agency
