T'way Air staff walk stray dogs, clean shelter in volunteer drive

T'way Air employees visited a stray dog shelter in Incheon, where they cleaned kennels and took the dogs out for walks.

The airline said Friday that 15 members of its in-house volunteer club, "Swim Bongsa," visited the Incheon stray dog shelter "Dorothy Jikyeojulgae" on Aug. 22 and Aug. 28 — two separate trips.

Participants cleaned the kennels and surrounding areas where the dogs live and carried out facility maintenance. They also helped move feed and other supplies.

Beyond tidying the shelter, the volunteers spent time directly caring for the animals — walking the dogs, playing with them and clearing waste from the yard, sharing in the day-to-day tasks the shelter requires.

Participation was entirely voluntary; the company did not assign employees but left it to club members to sign up on their own.

The volunteer club was founded by T'way Air employees in 2018 as a self-organized group. Over the years it has visited orphanages, sold fish-shaped pastries to raise donations, and painted murals alongside firefighters, among other activities.

T'way Air said it plans to continue employee-led volunteer activities, reaching out not only to abandoned animals but to wherever help is needed in the community.

"It was sweaty work cleaning the kennels, but seeing the dogs wag their tails and greet us gave us far more energy than we put in," a company official said. "We plan to keep sharing warmth not only with stray dogs but with the many different neighbors around us."

Meanwhile, T'way Air will begin operating under the new name Trinity Airways on Sept. 10. Its website and airport counters will switch to the new brand, though existing reservations will remain valid and the airline code "TW" and flight numbers will not change. Aircraft exteriors will be repainted in Trinity Airways livery on a rolling basis starting this month.

Alongside the name change, the airline is pursuing a "selective service carrier" strategy, operating a wider range of aircraft types and routes than a conventional low-cost carrier. It plans to introduce next-generation medium- and wide-body jets — the Airbus A330-900NEO and Boeing 737-8 — to strengthen its competitiveness on medium- and long-haul routes.