SEOUL-- T'way Air, a South Korean low-cost carrier, said Friday it has added one more A330-300 plane to its fleet to offer expanded flight services amid eased virus curbs.

The chartered plane will be in operation for the Gimpo-Jeju route starting April 14, the company said.

In February, T'way Air brought in its first A330-300 plane and has operated it on the Gimpo-Jeju route since March 22.

If a third plane is added by mid-May, the company aims to open services on the routes to Singapore, Hawaii, Sydney and East Europe and resume flights on the routes to Da Nang, Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh next month.

T'way Air has suspended most of its international routes since March 2020, as countries strengthened their entry restrictions over the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the whole of 2021, its net losses deepened to 156.2 billion won from 137.8 billion won.

To prepare for the post-pandemic demand, the company will bring an average of four large planes a year through 2027 while planning to introduce two 737-8 passenger jets, or 737-800 MAX planes, in the fourth quarter.

T'way Air plans to operate 20 large-sized planes and 30 mid- and small-sized ones by 2027 to achieve 3 trillion won in sales.

The budget carrier has one A330-300 and 27 B737-800 chartered planes and currently serves four international routes to Saipan and three Chinese cities -- Yanji, Wuhan and Jinan -- and six domestic routes. It served 47 international and three domestic routes in January 2020.

Source: Yonhap News Agency