South Korean low-cost carrier T’way Air Co. is poised to overtake Jin Air Co. and become the No.2 budget airline this year.

According to a brokerage consensus compiled by financial data tracker FnGuide Inc. on Wednesday, T’way Air is projected to post 17.6 billion won ($13.7 million) in operating profit in the fourth quarter of this year on sales of 325.9 billion won.

Jin Air’s operating profit is projected to reach 13.4 billion won on sales of 293 billion won during the same period.

T’way Air has been ahead of Jin Air in terms of sales since the first half of this year.

In the first six months of 2023, T’way Air raised 102.3 billion won in operating profit on sales of 644.9 billion won while Jin Air posted 102.7 billion won in operating profit on sales of 611.5 billion won.

T’way Air posted 37.6 billion won in operating profit in the third quarter on sales of 348 billion won while Jin Air’s figures stood at 32.6 billion won and 322.5 billion won, respectively, during the same period.

T’way Air also outperformed Jin Air in terms of the number of passengers.

According to Air Portal, T’way Air’s passenger traffic was 8.26 million in the first 10 months of 2023, up 25 percent from 2019 before the Covid-19 outbreak. Jin Air recorded 8.2 million passengers.

Industry observers attribute T’way Air’s solid performance to its bold investments, including the introduction of a new fleet of medium and large aircraft.

The airline has been aggressively launching new flights and expanding routes this year, differentiating itself from other LCCs by focusing on medium- and long-haul routes.

T’way Air operates a total of 30 aircraft, including three A330-300 large aircraft as of this year.

The airline plans to introduce an additional seven aircraft in 2024, including two large aircraft, and actively pursue efficiency in aircraft operation and revenue expansion by launching new medium to long-haul routes, including a new route to Europe that flies from Incheon to Croatia.

There are concerns, however, that T’way Air, which is in a rush to expand its fleet, may be compromising safety.

T’way Air experienced six known instances of flight delays and cancellations due to aircraft malfunctions between August and mid-December 2023.

“It is definitely a problem for an airline to have frequent aircraft malfunctions and high delay rates in a short period of time,” said an aviation industry insider. “In order to operate long-distance routes such as those to Europe in the future, it is necessary to further increase investment for passenger safety.”

By Ahn Seo-jin and Yoon Yeon-hae

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