HONG KONG: Hong Kong Airlines To Seize Hong Kong-San Francisco Flights October 5

Hong Kong Airlines will stop its Hong Kong-San Francisco service from October 5 this year, less than two years after first launching the service.

The decision comes following a review of its network and a change in business plan for USA market, the airline said in a statement published on its website.

The final flights between Hong Kong and San Francisco (HX60 and HX61) will be operated on October 4 this year. Passengers who have bought tickets for Hong Kong-San Francisco flights beyond that date will be offered alternative arrangements.

They can change the departure date for flights between the two cities for free before October 5, while those who decide to cancel their flights will get a full refund.

Passengers are also eligible for a free change to any destination that Hong Kong Airlines flies to though applicable fare and tax differences may apply, or a free transfer to other partner carriers which will be arranged by Hong Kong Airlines but subject to availability.

Hong Kong Airlines first launched this route in March 2018 and it currently flies this route four times a week.

The carrier will reduce the frequency of the service to three times weekly (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) starting from August 31, with its Sunday service cancelled.

Affected passengers can find contact details for Hong Kong Airlines’ customer assistance.

Hong Kong Airlines is not the only carrier that flies non-stop between Hong Kong and San Francisco: Cathay Pacific operates this route three times daily; United Airlines has recently announced that it will add a second non-stop service between the two cities from October.

Singapore Airlines also flies daily between Hong Kong and San Francisco, though it should be noted that the flight (SQ2) is actually a direct service between Singapore and San Francisco, with a stopover in Hong Kong.

In addition to San Francisco, in the North American market Hong Kong Airlines also operates long-haul flights to Vancouver and Los Angeles.

Hong Kong Airlines is a subsidiary of HNA Group, a Chinese conglomerate which is facing huge debts and a financial crisis. HK Express, once a subsidiary carrier of HNA Group, was fully acquired by Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific this month.

Ricky Chong Wai-ki, director of corporate governance and development of Hong Kong Airlines, said the airline had not ruled out a complete cut of long-haul flights in an interview with Hong Kong-based newspaper the South China Morning Post in June.

For North American flights, even airlines like Cathay face a lot of pressure so we keep reviewing. Our North American flights will be our short-term focus that we need to consolidate, said Chong.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong Airlines has also announced that it will discontinue its Hong Kong-Fuzhou service from September 2, while it will boost flights to three short-haul destinations.

The carrier will add a daily flight between Hong Kong and Haikou from September 2, four additional weekly flights between Hong Kong and Hangzhou from September 8 and two additional weekly flights between Hong Kong and Sapporo from September 28.

The arrangements will bring the total number of its Haikou, Hangzhou and Sapporo services to three daily flights, 14 weekly flights, and 11 weekly flights, respectively.

Last month, the carrier rolled out a series of new amenity kits for its business class passengers travelling on long-haul flights to North America.


Tourism Observer

More Airlines Expanding Routes

There’s a new entrant in the U.S.-Hong Kong market; Delta will put a new aircraft on a China route and will beef up transpacifc code-sharing; Cathay Pacific will add another U.S. gateway next year.

United is eliminating first class on many routes and cuts back China service; a Lufthansa affiliate is adding a new business class; LATAM is coming to Las Vegas; San Jose gets more service to Mexico; Copa begins Denver service; an Italian airline plans new U.S. routes.

Alaska ends its relationship with two European partners; and Norwegian revamps its U.S. schedules next summer, adding frequencies from the West Coast.

Hong Kong Airlines, a Hong Kong-based sister company of China’s Hainan Airlines, started service to the U.S. for the first time.

The carrier is using a new Airbus A350-900 on the Los Angeles-Hong Kong route, configured with 33 lie-flat business class seats, 109 premium economy seats with 34-inch pitch, and 193 regular economy seats with 31-32 inch pitch.

The new LAX-Hong Kong flights operate four times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday), with a 10:45 a.m. departure from LAX. Hong Kong Airlines plans to add San Francisco service in late March, and New York flights later next year.

So far, all of Delta’s Airbus A350-900s have been scheduled for routes out of Detroit or Atlanta, but now the airline is planning to operate one of the new planes out of Los Angeles.

Delta plans to start flying the new plane from LAX to Shanghai Pudong on July 2, alternating days with a 777-200LR until July 18, when the A350 went onto a daily schedule.

Delta’s A350s – which feature the airline’s new Delta One suites and new international premium economy section – are already used on flights from Detroit to Tokyo Narita and Seoul Incheon, and are slated to start Detroit-Beijing service January 17.

Detroit-Amsterdam and Atlanta-Seoul March 24; and Detroit-Shanghai April 19.

Meanwhile, Delta will expand code-sharing with its transpacific partner Korean Air on January 10, putting the DL code onto Korean’s flights to Seoul Incheon from Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

In other transpacific news, Cathay Pacific has unveiled plans to add another East Coast gateway in mid-September 2018, when it will start flying from Hong Kong to Washington Dulles.

The carrier already serves Boston, New York JFK and Newark. Cathay reportedly plans to fly the route – which will be the longest in its system – four days a week with a brand-new Airbus A350-1000.

A couple of months ago, we reported on United’s plans to reconfigure its international long-haul 777-200s, putting in new lie-flat Polaris business class seats, taking out first class, and going from nine-across to 10-across seating in economy.

The reconfigured 777s will be deployed, based on the elimination of first class from seating availability. It shows the elimination of 777 first class in late April from San Francisco to London, and from Washington Dulles to Brussels, Frankfurt and Tokyo Narita.

At the end of August from Chicago O’Hare to Beijing, Hong Kong, Tokyo Narita, Shanghai, Sao Paulo, Frankfurt and Munich.

Meanwhile, United’s seasonal summer route from San Francisco to Xi’An, China, which had previously been scheduled for three 787 flights a week from May 6 through September 4, has been eliminated for 2018.

Las Vegas is due to get its first non-stop service to South America next summer.

LATAM Airlines Brasil has filed plans to operate a 767 three times a week between Las Vegas and Sao Paulo from June 21 through August 31.

Lufthansa’s lower-cost leisure affiliate Eurowings plans to launch new transatlantic routes in 2018, including JFK-Dusseldorf starting April 28, Dusseldorf-Miami as of May 4, and Dusseldorf-Ft. Myers beginning May 3.

Now it appears that the airline will try to entice business travelers onto those flights by adding a new business class cabin.

The new Eurowings cabin, simply called Bizclass, will feature seats that recline fully and will include upgraded meals and other special amenities. Details of Eurowings’ new Bizclass were introduced in March at the big ITB Travel Fair in Berlin.

Mexican low-cost carrier Volaris, which already had service out of San Jose to Guadalajara, has now added two more routes.

Volaris has started twice-weekly flights from SJC to Morelia on Fridays and Sundays, as well as twice-weekly service from SJC to Zacatecas on Mondays and Thursdays. Next summer, Aeromexico is due to begin SJC-Mexico City flights.

Panama’s Copa Airlines, a member of United’s Star Alliance family, has added Denver as its 13th U.S. gateway.

The carrier has kicked off new non-stop service four days a week from Denver to Panama City, with Denver departures on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at 10:16 p.m. Copa offers onward connections in Panama to 55 Latin American destinations.

Italian carrier Meridiana plans to add two U.S. routes next summer. On June 1, it will begin daily service from Milan Malpensa to New York JFK, followed up on June 8 by four flights a week from Malpensa to Miami.

The airline will use a 247-passenger, two-class Airbus A330 on both routes.

On April 30, 2018, Alaska Airlines ended its Mileage Plan partnership with Air France-KLM – not really a surprise considering that the European duo has a joint venture partnership with Alaska’s arch-rival Delta.

Alaska and Delta ended their own mileage partnership last spring. The Alaskan carrier notes that it still has partnership agreements to Europe in place with British Airways, Finnair, Icelandair and Condor.

The latest schedule updates from Norwegian show the low-cost carrier plans to boost service on several U.S. routes in late March, increasing its weekly Barcelona frequencies from three to four out of Los Angeles, from three to five out of Oakland, and from four to six out of Newark.

The carrier will also boost LAX-Copenhagen service from three flights a week to four.

At Boston, Norwegian plans to increase London Gatwick service from four flights a week to seven starting June 12, but it will discontinue its seasonal Boston-Oslo and Boston-Copenhagen flights.


Tourism Observer

AIRLINES: Disparity Over Few Women In Leadership Positions

There have long been fewer female leaders than male in Hong Kong’s aviation sector, but come this summer the disparity will be made starker when Cathay Pacific Airways’ sole female leader, flight operations director Anna Thompson, leaves the city’s flagship carrier.

Thompson’s departure to the property unit of Cathay Pacific’s biggest shareholder, Swire Pacific, will leave no women in leadership roles at any of the city’s four passenger airlines.

Asked about the discrepancy, Cathay Pacific CEO Rupert Hogg acknowledged: We are an all-male line-up and we hope that doesn’t continue forever.

He pledged to address the gender imbalance, saying inclusion is really important, particularly from minority groups to feel they have a place in Cathay Pacific.

Thompson could not be reached for comment. The other three airlines are Cathay Pacific’s subsidiary, Cathay Dragon, as well as Hong Kong Airlines and Hong Kong Express. The latter two declined to comment.

More than 60 per cent of employees at Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon are women.

The sector’s gender imbalance and how businesses can make progress on it featured in a discussion on Monday at the International Air Transport Association (IATA) summit, an annual global gathering of airlines and industry executives, held this year in Sydney.

Aviation consultant Mylene Scholnick said the scales tip heavily towards male candidates across the board when middle-to-senior management roles in the industry are being filled.

Scholnick cited statistics to illustrate the scale of the challenge, noting women make up less than 5 per cent of airline pilots and airline CEOs.

And while half of the intake into the aviation industry last year was female, they were mainly hired for support functions or roles such as flight attendants.

I believe mentorship, training on unconscious biases, and business resource groups, are all key to seeing more women leaders, the consultant said.

At the summit, an all-male panel of airline executives, including Hogg and bosses from Air Canada, Air New Zealand, Emirates and KLM, agreed more action was needed to even out the gender disparity.

Cathay Pacific’s senior management comprises 11 directors.

KLM’s Pieter Elbers said the sector needed to look more deeply into what was driving the imbalance and what should be done in various parts of women’s careers to spark change.

That is not necessarily a discussion with the five of us at the summit that is a discussion with the women involved, he said. What’s needed and how can we help to make the progress?

But at the event’s closing press conference on Tuesday, the incoming IATA chairman, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker, voiced a different view, saying nothing needed to be done to promote women to his airline’s senior ranks.

Asked about the top job, Al Baker said, Of course it has to be led by a man because it is a very challenging position. This statement later caused furry from ladies.

His statement elicited groans and boos.

On IATA’s 31-member governing board, represented by airlines, only one woman holds a seat.

And in the past year, two female CEOs have left the airline industry for top jobs elsewhere. Former EasyJet CEO Carolyn McCall switched to the media sector, while ex-Jetstar boss Jayne Hrdlicka left for the agriculture sector.

Thai Airways announced its female acting president, Usanee Sangsingkeo, would be replaced permanently by an outsider, a man with no aviation experience.

On Monday the SkyTeam airline alliance announced Kristin Colville as its new CEO, a month after the board of United Continental airlines agreed to have its first female chair, with JetBlue promoting a woman to its president in charge of day-to-day operations.

In the region, China’s Dr Fang Liu chairs the International Civil Aviation Organisation, a UN agency managing the global rules in aviation.

Flourishing budget carrier Vietjet, whose model is as much to sell seats as well as the appeal of its female cabin crew, is led by CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, and commercial chief Nguyen Thi Thuy Binh.

At AirAsia, Aireen Omar has risen to the rank of deputy group CEO.

Scholnick, who co-founded Hong Kong business jet operator Metrojet, was optimistic about the imbalance being corrected eventually.

Gender disparity in aviation will persist over the next several years, she said. However, I believe that there’s opportunity now for young women in aviation to gain experience and reach senior levels of leading organisations.

Women's Foundation CEO Fiona Nott says women are generally under-represented in Hong Kong across leadership positions in business.

In Cathay Pacific’s case, the female general managers who are just one level below the airline’s 11 directors appear poised to move up to serve as its next batch of leaders.

Fiona Nott, CEO of the non-profit Women’s Foundation in Hong Kong, said women were generally under-represented in the city across leadership positions in business, with just 29 per cent of management positions held by women.

Surprisingly for a global hub, women’s position in Hong Kong lags behind other developed markets, Nott said.

She called for targets and objectives to be rolled out for gender diversity over and above those set for business outcomes.

Numerous studies show that greater gender diversity leads to better business outcomes. Having more women in leadership is good for business and good for Hong Kong.

We all benefit when our businesses reflect the society in which they operate.


Tourism Observer

HONG KONG: Hong Kong Airlines Launches Flights to Moscow, Russia

Hong Kong Airlines has launched non-stop flights connecting Hong Kong with Moscow.

The new seasonal service, which will operate thrice weekly, marks the airline’s entry into Europe.

Hong Kong Airlines Vice Chairman Mr Tang King Shing said: Hong Kong Airlines is proud to be the only Hong Kong based carrier operating a direct service to Moscow.

Hong Kong and Russia have enjoyed a strong bilateral partnership as seen in the visa-free arrangements for travel between the two destinations.

Our new service will provide more choice and greater convenience as more travellers look to Russia for a holiday getaway.

The internationally-acclaimed full-service airline Hong Kong Airlines announced that it will add frequency of its flight service to Osaka to two flights daily and that to Sapporo to one flight daily.

The arrangement is believed to meet the growing travel and trade demand between Hong Kong and the two cities, further strengthening the airline’s network in Japan.

Mr. Li Dianchun, Chief Commercial Officer of Hong Kong Airlines, said, The Japan destinations have been quite popular among Hong Kong Airlines’ passengers.

Satisfying response has been received since the commencement of flight service to Sapporo and Osaka in December, in view of which we have been proactively exploring to add frequency to these routes so as to meet the travel demand of our passengers.

In addition, Hong Kong Airlines will launch its flight service to Yonago soon on 14 September, bringing more travel choices for the passengers.

Hong Kong Airlines currently flies to over 30 destinations in the Asia-Pacific region. With the upcoming flight service to Yonago and the additional flight service to Osaka and Sapporo, by then Hong Kong Airlines will operate a total of 60 weekly flights.

The flights between Hong Kong and Japan, including two daily flights to Okinawa, Tokyo and Osaka respectively, one daily flight to Sapporo and five-time weekly service to Kagoshima, as well as twice-weekly flights to Miyazaki, Okayama and Yonago respectively.

Hong Kong Airlines will then have 8 flight destinations in Japan, which represents a further upgrade of its destination network in the country.

Established in 2006, Hong Kong Airlines is a full-service airline firmly rooted in Hong Kong with a wide destination network covering over 30 major cities across the Asia Pacific region, including Gold Coast, Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei, Tokyo, Sapporo, Bangkok, Bali and Okinawa.

The current operating fleet is made up of 32 Airbus aircraft with an average age of around 3.9 years, consisting of 27 passenger aircraft and five freighters, being one of the youngest fleet in the world.

Hong Kong Airlines has been awarded the internationally acclaimed 4-star rating from Skytrax since 2011.

Adhering to the concept of Fresh and Very Hong Kong, Hong Kong Airlines is committed to Bringing Greater Journeys Sky High, and is dedicated to providing a pleasant and enjoyable journey to all passengers.

Hong Kong Airlines Ltd, IATA: HX is an airline based in Hong Kong, with its headquarters in the Tung Chung district and its main hub at Hong Kong International Airport.

It was established in 2006 as a member of the HNA Group.

Hong Kong Airlines’ growing network currently covers over 30 cities regionally, including the Gold Coast, Auckland, Beijing, Shanghai, Bangkok, Bali, Taipei, Seoul, Tokyo, Sapporo and Okinawa.

And the newly launched Vancouver and Los Angeles routes in 2017. The airline has a combined fleet of 35 aircraft. The current passenger fleet has 31 aircraft with an average age of about 5 years as of September 2017.

Hong Kong Airlines codeshares with the following airlines:

- Asiana Airlines

- Air Astana

- Air India

- Air Mauritius

- Bangkok Airways

- China Eastern Airlines

- Etihad Airways

- EVA Air

- Fiji Airways

- Garuda Indonesia

- Grand China Air

- Hainan Airlines

- Jet Airways

- Kenya Airways

- Royal Brunei Airlines

- Shanghai Airlines

- Virgin Australia


Tourism Observer

HONG KONG: Hong Kong Airlines Launched Daily Service Between Hong Kong And Vancouver

Hong Kong Airlines is extending its network in Canada by placing its HX marketing code on WestJet-operated flights, after the two companies signed a codeshare agreement.

The carriers are building on an existing interline agreement put in place earlier this year.

Our newly launched daily service between Hong Kong and Vancouver has been a great success and this codeshare agreement with WestJet, which extends our network in Canada is the logical next step, Hong Kong Airlines Chief Commercial Officer Li Dianchun said.

Hong Kong Airlines’ daily Hong Kong-Vancouver service will allow guests to connect onto select WestJet flights from Vancouver to Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto.

We welcome Hong Kong Airlines as our newest codeshare partner and congratulate them on their inaugural service to Vancouver in June of this year, said Ed Sims, WestJet executive vice-president commercial.

This codeshare agreement provides guests on both sides of the Pacific with more choices and opportunities to experience excellent service and travel globally, he added.

Tickets can be purchased via travel agents or Hong Kong Airlines’ sales offices and call centers.

Established in 2006, Hong Kong Airlines is a full-service airline firmly rooted in Hong Kong.

Its wide destination network covers close to 40 major cities across the Asia Pacific region and North America.

Hong Kong Airlines is represented in Greece and Cyprus by Discover the World.

Low cost carrier WestJet and its regional airline, WestJet Encore, offer scheduled services to more than 100 destinations in North America, Central America, the Caribbean and Europe and to more than 175 destinations in over 20 countries through airline partnerships.



Tourism Observer

HONG KONG: Ivory Valued At US$9 Million, From Malaysia Disguised As Fish Seized In Hong Kong

Just when we've thought that Malaysian officials have managed to successfully roll back international ivory-smuggling syndicates using the country as a transit point, here comes a reminder that ivory smugglers remain relentless and continue to use the country for their nefarious activities.

Customs officials in Hong Kong discovered a shocking 7,200kg of ivory tusks, which had originated in Malaysia.

Valued at around US$9 million, it's the largest haul of contraband ivory seized in Hong Kong in three decades.

The shipment of tusks from African elephants had been labelled as "fish" and sent to the Chinese territory from Malaysia.

The elephant tusks were stored in boxes hidden under frozen fish. The 1,000 boxes were half-empty when we found them with frozen fish put around the ivory, a customs official said.

Local authorities have arrested the owner of a Hong Kong trading company and two of his employees. The trio are facing hefty fines and up to nine years in prison for violating Hong Kong laws that prohibit trade in endangered animals and their parts.

According to the conservationist group WildAid, as many as 720 elephants were killed for their tusks in this one shipment alone.

Let's reflect on that for a moment: hundreds of more elephants are dead just because people continue to prize items fashioned from their tusks.

These tusks represent the lives of hundreds of elephants, said Margaret Kinnaird, head of WWF’s global Wildlife Practice.

In the Selous Game Reserve, Tanzania, for instance, almost 90 per cent of elephants have disappeared due to poaching in the last 40 years with only about 15,000 remaining.

WWF has called on authorities from Africa to Asia to crack down harder on international syndicates trafficking in ivory.

The tusks' likely final destination was mainland China, the world's largest market for ivory.

Encouragingly, China has promised to end all illegal trade in ivory by the end of this year, but eradicating all trafficking in contraband ivory in China and elsewhere will be a daunting task given that poachers and traffickers routinely take advantage of a lack of law enforcement and outright corruption in developing nations from Africa to Asia.

Hong Kong itself has long served as a convenient gateway for smugglers into China.

Everything from shark fins to pangolin scales is regularly smuggled into the Chinese territory from elsewhere in the region, including Malaysia.

Hong Kong ranks as the 5th largest hub of contraband ivory in the world, and between 2000 and 2013, a massive 33,000kg of elephant tusks were seized in the territory.

This latest seizure is almost one-tenth of the recorded ivory stock (77,000 kg) in Hong Kong, WWF notes.



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Latest Airline Routes

Mumbai Airport welcomed the arrival of its newest European carrier on 30 March – Brussels Airlines. The Star Alliance member will offer five weekly flights on the 6,862-kilometre link from Brussels on a mixture of its A330-200s and -300s according to OAG schedules. Seen carrying out traditional lamp-lighting ceremony to welcome the airline to Mumbai.

Brussels Airlines this week also began flights to Funchal, with the inaugural crew being greeted with flowers on arrival. This is the only route of the three launched by Brussels Airlines this week that will face direct competition. The 2,663-kilometre route will be flown by the Star Alliance member weekly (Saturdays) on its 141-seat A319s.

Brussels Airlines this week initiated three new scheduled services from its hub at Brussels (BRU), with the most significant being a 6,862-kilometre link to Mumbai (BOM). Launched 30 March, the service marks the end of a one-year gap of scheduled flights between Brussels and India, with Jet Airways, which served both Mumbai and Delhi from Brussels, having moved its European hub to Amsterdam at the end of March last year.

Our new service has received a warm welcome here in the Indian market. We see very encouraging booking results for travel to Belgium and many destinations beyond Brussels including Canada, US, UK, Spain, France and several African destinations, said Patrick Roofthooft, Brussels Airlines Director India and Commercial Development.

Brussels Airlines will operate the route on a mixture of its A330-200s and -300s on a five times weekly basis, with no other carrier offering direct competition. Not only did Brussels Airlines begin its first flights to India this week, but it also linked Brussels to Funchal (FNC) and Yerevan (EVN).

Flights to both destinations will be flown weekly (Saturday), with the 2,663-kilometre connection to Funchal being operated on the airline’s A319s and the 3,281-kilometre link to Yerevan on A320s. While flights to the Armenian capital will not face direct competition, services to Funchal will go head-to-head with Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium and TUIfly, with both also operating weekly flights.

It should be noted that Brussels Airlines did begin services to Yerevan in December, though these were initially operated as charter flights. With scheduled services now in place, the airline will increase the frequency to Yerevan from Brussels to twice-weekly in July. Vote for either Brussels or Funchal’s FTWA in this week’s Arch of Triumph Public Vote. Vote for Mumbai Airport’s cake in this week’s Cake of the Week Public Vote.

Arkia Israeli Airlines has begun twice-weekly flights between Tel Aviv (TLV) and Milan Bergamo (BGY). The 2,638-kilometre sector will be flown by the airline’s E195s and faces no direct competition. However, three carriers offer flights between Tel Aviv and Milan Malpensa; El Al with 10 weekly flights, easyJet with five weekly flights and Neos Air with twice-weekly flights. According to OAG data the Israeli carrier now operates scheduled services from Tel Aviv to 11 destinations in 11 different countries.

Cathay Pacific Airways has added Israel to its network with the introduction on 26 March of a four times weekly service between Hong Kong (HKG) and Tel Aviv (TLV). The oneworld carrier will use its 280-seat A350-900s on the new route. Starting last May the airline has acquired 12 of the type with the most recent addition being delivered this month.

The new route to Tel Aviv has already proved so popular that a fifth weekly frequency will be added from 1 September. Paul Loo, Director of Corporate Development at Cathay Pacific, said: “We are very excited to launch this service. Tel Aviv is such a technologically advanced business capital and Hong Kong is the international financial centre in Asia, we are very excited to link these two cities together.

The route is already flow by El Al, which offers six weekly flights. Next up for Cathay Pacific are new routes to Barcelona and Christchurch starting in July and December respectively.

Jetstar Pacific Airlines on 18 November began a four times weekly service on the 1,490-kilometre route between Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) and Hong Kong (HKG). The route, which will be flown using the LCC’s fleet of 12 A320s, is already served by Cathay Pacific Airways (17 times weekly) and Vietnam Airlines (10 times weekly). Jetstar Pacific already serves Hong Kong from Hanoi, a route it launched on 7 September 2015. This winter the airline will serve 19 destinations from Ho Chi Minh City, 15 in Vietnam as well as Bangkok, Hong Kong and Singapore, plus Guangzhou, a new route which will start at the beginning of December.

Hong Kong Airlines has further expanded its network in Japan with the introduction on 14 September of twice-weekly (Wednesdays and Saturdays) flights from Hong Kong (HKG) to Yonago (YGJ). The 2,375-kilometre route will be flown by the airline’s A320s and faces no direct competition. This becomes the carrier’s eighth destination in Japan which it now serves with 58 weekly flights.

In his speech at the inaugural ceremony, Stanley Kan, Director of Hong Kong Airlines’ Service Delivery Department, said: “The beautiful natural landscape, local cuisine and cultural scene of Tottori Prefecture is very appealing to tourists from Hong Kong and broader regions.

With Hong Kong Airlines, passengers can choose to travel around Osaka, Okayama and Yonago, providing more options in their trip planning.” Hong Kong Airlines is the third biggest carrier in the Hong Kong to Japan market with 17% of seats. It lags behind Cathay Pacific Airways (35%) and HK Express (18%) but is ahead of All Nippon Airways (9%) and Dragonair (5%). Curiously, Japanese carriers only account for 22% of seat capacity in the market.

Hong Kong Airlines on 11 November became the third carrier to link Hong Kong (HKG) and Auckland (AKL) with non-stop flights. The 9,164-kilometre sector is already served by Air New Zealand and Cathay Pacific Airways with daily flights. Hong Kong Airlines will also operate the route on a daily basis using its 283-seat A330-200s.

In his speech at the welcome ceremony, Mr. Li Dianchun, CCO of Hong Kong Airlines, said: We are delighted with the successful launch of this much-anticipated new route in Auckland. So far, we have received an overwhelming response from travellers since tickets became available for purchase. As a result, we have already increased our service to 10 times weekly from 11 December to 13 February 2017.

We also anticipate strong demand out of the New Zealand market to Hong Kong and connecting onto our network in Asia. We hope that the new route will further strengthen the cultural, tourism and business ties between these two countries. This new route easily becomes the airline’s longest sector beating the 7,033-kilometre route to Gold Coast in Australia. The unaligned carrier now serves a total of 32 destinations non-stop from Hong Kong on its fleet of 23 A330s and 11 A320s. See how Auckland Airport’s FTWA compares to others from around the world.

Aegean Airlines launched flights on its latest route to Germany on 20 May, beginning a twice-weekly (Wednesdays and Saturdays) service between Athens (ATH) and Hannover (HAJ). The Star Alliance member will operate the 1,954-kilometre sector on its fleet of A320s, with no other carrier operating the city pairing.

With this launch, Aegean Airlines now serves eight destinations in Germany from Athens on 35 weekly flights including Berlin Tegel, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and Kassel-Calden, with the latter being operated by the airline for the documenta 14 art exhibition. The Greek carrier will stop flights to Kassel-Calden on 23 June.

Air Canada has expanded its presence at Denver (DEN) by beginning twice-daily flights from Vancouver (YVR). The carrier already serves the Colorado city from Montreal and Toronto Pearson. “Air Canada has been a valued airline partner at Denver since 1995, and is our longest-tenured foreign flag carrier,” said Kim Day, CEO of Denver Airport at the Vancouver launch.

These new flights between Denver and Vancouver will provide more options for travelers to explore two of the most dynamic cities in North America.Air Canada will operate the 1,788-kilometre route, which launched on 18 May, twice-daily on its fleet of CRJ 700s according to OAG schedules.

The Canadian flag carrier joins fellow Star Alliance member United Airlines on the route, with the latter already offering 20 weekly flights. By launching flights to Denver, Air Canada now links Vancouver to 15 airports in the US on 220 weekly flights.

Hong Kong Airlines has chosen to re-enter the highly competitive market between Hong Kong (HKG) and Tokyo Narita (NRT). On 1 July the airline resumed service on the 2,961-kilometre route, operating twice-daily with a mix of A330-300s and A330-200s. It last served the market in January 2013. Competition is provided by: Cathay Pacific Airways (four daily flights); All Nippon Airways, HK Express and Vanilla Air (all with twice-daily flights); as well as Japan Airlines and Jetstar Japan, who both operate daily flights.

This becomes Hong Kong Airlines’ sixth route to Japan. In his speech at the welcome ceremony, Mr. Li Dianchun, CCO of Hong Kong Airlines, said: As the capital of Japan and one of Asia’s world cities, Tokyo has always been a top business and travel destination for Hong Kong travellers. In recent years, Hong Kong Airlines has been actively expanding our network in Japan. The opening of the Hong Kong-Narita route is of special strategic significance to us as we now cover this crucial destination in Kanto area.

British Airways flight BA 7025 departed Birmingham (BHX) on the inaugural service to Florence (FLR) on 20 May, but it also marked a significant return to regional flying for the airline. It was the first of four new regional routes launched from the Midlands, as well as from Bristol (BRS) in the UK’s Southwest, this weekend and the first time BA’s colours have been seen at either airport for years. The airline last flew from both airports in 2007 when its regional airline business BA Connect was sold to Flybe.

Paul Kehoe, Birmingham Airport CEO said: Today is a momentous day for Birmingham Airport. To see the British Airways tailfin on the ground after ten years is great news for the region and adds to the other IAG carriers already here. The introduction of four routes for the summer season ensures passengers have more choice on popular routes from the airport and additionally have the chance to visit the beautiful city of Florence, which was previously unserved.

Alex Cruz, BA CEO and chairman said: We continue our regional growth following the successful launch of services from Stansted last year.

Now we are flying from Birmingham once again we are excited about the future opportunities.” In addition to these eight services, the oneworld carrier also started nine more from London City (LCY), Dublin (DUB), London Stansted (STN) and Manchester (MAN) over the last seven days. Jonathan Ford, anna.aero’s Assistant Editor, went to Bristol to witness the start of BA’s operations.

Germania launched the first connection between Zurich (ZRH) and Rostock (RLG) on 19 May. Operated twice-weekly (Fridays and Sundays), the German airline will serve the unique 764-kilometre city pair on its fleet of 737-700s. On 26 May, the Hanseatic city will also boast a direct link to Vienna thanks to Germania.

Dörthe Hausmann, MD Rostock Airport said: We have established successful links with South Germany over the last few years. The connections to Linz and Basel set up over the last few years have also been promising. With these newly established connections to Vienna and Zurich, considerably more tourists from Switzerland and Austria can bring their financial strength to our region.

Claus Altenburg, Germania’s Director Sales Development Routes and Systems added: We are glad to be a partner of the regions and we are also pleased to strengthen their collaboration. These city links will complement our range of leisure flight connections from Rostock Airport for passengers living in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

Meanwhile, Vienna and Zurich are great cities to which we are delighted to offer connections. In addition to this service the airline has opened a base in Palma de Mallorca (PMI), adding three new routes to three different countries – namely Dortmund (DTM; Germany), Maastricht (MST; Netherlands) and Strasbourg (SXB; France).

Throughout the summer season, daily flights to Friedrichshafen, Münster/Osnabrück, Dresden, Bremen and Nuremberg will be available from the base. Erfurt and Rostock will also be connected with the island several times per week. Flights to Cuxhaven/Nordholz will also be offered in autumn from Palma de Mallorca.

New services were also launched from Hamburg (HAM) and Berlin Schönefeld (SXF), the airline’s ninth and 14th largest bases in terms of weekly seats, to Menorca (MAH) and Kos (KGS) respectively.

AirAsia X Indonesia on 19 May introduced daily flights from Denpasar (DPS) on the Indonesian island of Bali to Mumbai (BOM) in India via Kuala Lumpur (KUL) in Malaysia. The 3,621-kilometre sector between Malaysia and India is already served by Malaysia Airlines (double-daily flights) and Malindo Air (eight weekly flights).

AirAsia X Indonesia will operate the route using its 377-seat A330-300s of which it currently has two. AirAsia X Indonesia CEO, Captain Sulistyo Nugroho Hanung said, “AirAsia X Indonesia is pleased to offer guests this new daily flight between Mumbai and Bali, Indonesia. We are so delighted to offer free seats on this route and hope that many will take advantage of this opportunity to travel to our beautiful island destination.

We see this route as promising, as it opens connectivity for India’s population of one billion people to their dream holiday destination.

airberlin launched a new long-haul service from Berlin Tegel (TXL) on flight AB 7022 to Los Angeles (LAX). From 16 May, the airline now offers three connections per week on its A330-200 fleet between the capital of Germany and the second largest city in the US. “This new long-haul flight from Berlin Tegel to Los Angeles is the next step in airberlin’s new strategic policy.

Both locations are of great importance to the international film industry. It therefore makes sense to link the two metropolises,” said airberlin CEO Thomas Winkelmann. We are happy about this long-haul connection to Los Angeles, the city of film, said Engelbert Lütke Daldrup, Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg CEO. It provides business travellers as well as tourists with a direct connection to the west coast of the US. It will also strengthen our region by providing it with additional visitors

An additional inaugural flight will follow on 29 May as airberlin launches services from Tegel to San Francisco. With its current summer schedule, airberlin offers a total of 33 weekly non-stop services to five destinations in the US out of Berlin Tegel: Chicago O’Hare, Los Angeles, Miami, New York JFK and San Francisco.

Allegiant Air has begun flights on three unique routes this week, starting on 17 May with flights between Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and Belleville (BLV) in Illinois. The 1,654-kilometre route will be served by the carrier twice-weekly (Wednesdays and Saturdays). On 19 May, a second route to Fort Lauderdale was also launched, with Allegiant Air connecting the Floridian airport with Louisville (SDF) in Kentucky. The 1,422-kilometre city pairing will also be served twice-weekly (Mondays and Fridays).

The third and final route to launch this week was a 1,479-kilometre sector between Austin (AUS) and Indianapolis (IND). Now the race fans of the Indy 500 can easily come to our Grand Prix at the Circuit of America or see a concert there and enjoy the live music capital of the world,” said Jim Smith, Executive Director of Austin Airport.

We welcome Allegiant Air’s growth at Austin’s Airport. Also operating twice-weekly (Mondays and Fridays), the city pairing between the racing centres of the US is scheduled to operate on Allegiant Air’s fleet of MD-83s. Both routes involving Fort Lauderdale will be operated on the carrier’s fleet of A320s.

Cebu Pacific Air started its second new domestic route from Cebu (CEB) this week with the launch on 16 May of a four times weekly service to Cotabato (CBO). The 351-kilometre route will be flown by CebGo using its ATR 72s. No other carrier connects these two airports. Cotabato is located on the province of Maguindanao.

The airport’s only other scheduled services are to the capital, Manila, which are offered by both Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines. Cotabato City is home of Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Masjid, also known as the Grand Mosque of Cotabato, which is the largest mosque in the Philippines. Completed in 2011 the facility can accommodate 15,000 people and was funded by the Sultan of Brunei.

Croatia Airlines has this week begun four new capital connections from Zagreb (ZAG), with the carrier now linking the capital of Croatia to Bucharest (OTP), Helsinki (HEL), Oslo Gardermoen (OSL) and Stockholm Arlanda (ARN). In general, the interest for Mediterranean countries has increased heavily among Swedish travellers. Zagreb is also a completely new direct route from Stockholm Arlanda and it is also one of the top unserved destinations.

We welcome Croatian Airlines’ expansion at Stockholm Arlanda, giving Swedes more opportunity to experience Croatia, said Elizabeth Axtelius, Aviation Business Director at Swedavia of the new link between Sweden and Croatia. Along with Arlanda, none of the other three capital connections launched by Croatia Airlines will face direct competition.

While the three new routes to Scandinavia will operate on 100-seat CRJ 1000s leased from Air Nostrum, Bucharest services will be flown on the airline’s own Q400s. All four routes will be flown three times weekly, while the average sector length is 1,427 kilometres.

Ethiopian Airlines introduced Chengdu (CTU) to its network on 22 May, meaning that the Star Alliance member now serves four destinations in China from Addis Ababa (ADD), with Chengdu joining Beijing, Shanghai Pudong and Guangzhou. Ethiopian Airlines’ flights were originally planned to operate three times weekly from the date of inauguration, however the airline’s next flight on the 7,125-kilometre sector will be on 2 June.

From the latter date a regular three times weekly (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays) service will operate. Facing no direct competition, Ethiopian Airlines will serve the city pair on its 787-8s, with the carrier now reporting to have 17 of the type in its fleet, with a further two still to be delivered.

With launching flights to Chengdu, Ethiopian Airlines now serves 13 airports in Asia on 100 weekly flights, including Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, Delhi, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Mumbai, Seoul Incheon, Singapore and Tokyo Narita according to OAG schedules.

Frontier Airlines this week introduced two new unique routes to San Diego (SAN), with the carrier launching flights to the Californian city from Cincinnati (CVG) and Cleveland (CLE). The growth of Frontier at Cincinnati over the last four years has been incredible,” said Candace McGraw, CEO Cincinnati Airport.

The airline now offers 17 non-stop year-round and/or seasonal destinations on 93 flights a week. Frontier also becomes the airport’s fourth largest carrier in terms of daily flights and second largest carrier in terms of seats offered. This success would not have been possible without the support of the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky community.

Frontier will operate the 2,993-kilometre link between Cincinnati and San Diego, which launched 21 May, three times weekly (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays).

Flights on the 3,254-kilometre city pairing of Cleveland and San Diego, which began 22 May, will be flown four times weekly, with both routes being served by the carrier’s fleet of A320s. Finally this week, Frontier has also started a connection between Cleveland and Houston Intercontinental (IAH).

Also launched 22 May, the 1,754-kilometre route, which will also be flown on A320s, will go head-to-head with United Airlines, with the Star Alliance member already providing 33 weekly flights on the sector according to OAG schedules.

Nordica has expanded its network by introducing flights between its base in Tallinn (TLL) and Hamburg (HAM). The carrier, which launched the route on 16 May, will offer three weekly flights (Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays) on the 1,109-kilometre connection between Germany’s second largest city and the Estonian capital.

The route, which will not face direct competition, will be served by CRJ 900s operated by LOT Polish Airlines. With this launch, Nordica now serves three airports in Germany, with it also linking Tallinn to Munich (twice-daily) and Berlin Tegel (twice-weekly), with the latter only being summer seasonal. Earlier this week the airline launched flights to St. Petersburg in Russia.

Pegasus Airlines has added Saarbrücken (SCN) to its network this week, beginning a twice-weekly operation from Antalya (AYT) on 22 May. The seasonal flight, which will operate until October, initially begins with a Monday rotation, with a sector on Fridays to be added in early June.

The airline operates to 20 airports from Antalya, with Saarbrücken becoming the seventh in Germany, according to this week’s OAG schedules. Flown by its 189-seat 737-800s, the route faces direct competition from SunExpress, which offers the city pair three times weekly.

SalamAir has entered the Pakistani market this week, beginning a three times weekly operation from Muscat (MCT) to Sialkot (SKT) on 16 May. This will be the first stage of the airline’s development in the market, as it will introduce services to Multan and Karachi in the coming weeks. The LCC will face competition from incumbents Pakistan International Airlines (twice-weekly) and Shaheen Air International (weekly) on the city pair.

The 1,860-kilometre sector will be flown by SalamAir’s growing A320 fleet. Sialkot becomes SalamAir’s fourth destination, with it already serving Dubai Al Maktoum, Jeddah and Salalah from Muscat.

Ukraine International Airlines has launched its second route to Milan Bergamo (BGY) this week, starting a daily service to the Italian airport from Kiev Boryspil (KBP). Launched 16 May, the 1,651-kilometre route will be served daily on a mixture of the carrier’s 737-800s and E190s according to OAG Schedules Analyser data.

The link from the Ukrainian capital will not face any direct competition. The airline started serving Milan Bergamo on 28 April, the day on which it inaugurated a twice-weekly (Mondays and Saturdays) summer seasonal service from Chernivtsi. Milan Bergamo is the second airport in Milan to be served by Ukraine International Airlines, as it already offers daily flights from Boryspil to Milan Malpensa.

Volotea expanded its presence in Montpellier (MPL) on 20 May, with the addition of a weekly (Saturdays) rotation to Bastia (BIA). The 463-kilometre sector, which will be flown by a variety of the airline’s equipment, joins the carrier’s five other domestic services from Montpellier – namely to Nantes, Strasbourg, Lille, Brest and Ajaccio. No other airline flies on this sector.

Wizz Air has been busy promoting the eight new routes it opened this week across Europe, with the services including two new airports to the airline’s network – Frankfurt (FRA) and Osijek (OSI). Commenting on the launch of flights to Frankfurt, Gabor Vasarhelyi, Corporate Communications Manager at Wizz Air, said: We are thrilled to be starting operations from Frankfurt Airport, the 11th airport that Wizz Air serves in Germany.

Wizz Air will connect Frankfurt to Sofia with a daily service and the carrier will shortly launch a second route to another dynamic Central European capital, Budapest begins December.

By launching flights to Osijek, Wizz Air now serves two airports in Croatia, with its new route between Basel and Osijek complementing the carrier’s existing seasonal services to Split from London Luton and Warsaw Chopin.

Apart from the airline’s new service between Sofia and Frankfurt, the remaining sectors launched by Wizz Air this week will operate twice-weekly. The average sector length of Wizz Air’s eight new routes is 1,119 kilometres.

Asiana Airlines And Hong Kong Airlines Sign Codeshare Agreement

Hong Kong Airlines and Asiana Airlines have entered into codeshare partnership to bring more flight options to passengers travelling between Hong Kong and Seoul, the capital city of Korea.

Under the agreement, Hong Kong Airlines and Asiana Airlines place their respective marketing codes on each other’s flights between Hong Kong and Seoul.

The partnership allows customers of both Hong Kong Airlines and Asiana Airlines to choose from a total of five daily flights when they travel between the two Asian key business cities.

Li Dianchun, chief commercial officer, Hong Kong Airlines, said: “We launched the daily flight service from Hong Kong to Seoul last December, which was our first route to Korea.

“From then we have been actively exploring ways to improve schedule options on this route.

“We are very happy to establish code sharing partnership with Asiana Airlines, one of the world’s best airlines.

“By connecting the hubs of the two airlines, the codeshare does not only benefit customers travelling between Hong Kong and Seoul, it also allows customers to seamlessly transfer when they travel on an itinerary to or from other destinations that includes flights operated by both carriers.”

The codeshare flights are now on sale.

KENYA: Kenya Airways Signs Codeshare Agreement With Hong Kong Airlines

Kenya Airways has signed a codeshare agreement with Hong Kong Airlines (HX), on the Bangkok (BKK) – Hong Kong (HKG) route, in a bid to improve connectivity in Asia.

The agreement will see Hong Kong Airlines load Kenya Airways flight code on the Asian carriers’ seven daily flights between HKG and BKK from October 3, 2016. This will allow the national carrier, Kenya Airways; have a daily product between these two key business cities.

It will also enable Hong Kong Airlines passengers to book a through ticket to Nairobi, and the rest of Kenya Airways destinations, especially in Africa.

Kenya Airways Group Managing Director and CEO Mbuvi Ngunze said the partnership will enable customers of both carriers to take maximum benefit of flexibility on each other’s network.

“This partnership will enable us and Hong Kong Airlines to offer our customers seamless connection, especially for our passengers in the region who mainly travel to these Asian cities for business.

Guests will now be able to enjoy daily flights between Hong Kong and Nairobi up from the current three weekly flights,” said Mbuvi.

Li Dianchun, Chief Commercial Officer of Hong Kong Airlines said, “We are very glad to welcome Kenya Airways, a respectful international airline from Africa, as our latest codeshare partner.

Hong Kong Airlines launched the route to Bangkok since 2010 and now the city has become one of our best connected destinations with 34 weekly flights currently.

The codeshare enables passengers of Kenya Airways to choose from our flights between Hong Kong and Bangkok connecting their journey to and from Nairobi with much flexibility.

We look forward to serving passengers from Kenya Airways on board with our Skytrax 4-star quality service.”

The codeshare will provide new growth opportunities for both airlines’ to work together to improve flight schedules options and connectivity.

Passengers will also be able to enjoy seamless onward connection into the Far East Asia and Oceania region through this agreement.

Currently Kenya Airways flies daily to Bangkok with only three onward flights to Hong Kong per week

KENYA: Hong Kong Airways Boosts Kenya Airways With Codeshare Agreement

The codeshare deal between Kenya Airways and Hong Kong Airlines, effective immediately, has widened connectivity between Nairobi and Hong Kong for passengers on Kenya Airways, connecting from the airline's daily flights to Bangkok.

Kenya Airways is after Air Mauritius the second African airline Hong Kong Airlines has signed code share deals with, important as the Chinese carrier does not operate their own flights to Africa and can now rely on KQ's extensive continental network out of Nairobi.

The Hong Kong connections via Bangkok in conjunction with Hong Kong Airlines are in addition to the three direct flights Kenya Airways offers between Nairobi and the Chinese trading power house.

In a related developments are aviation observers now keenly awaiting financial results of H1 of Kenya Airways' financial year to see if the reversal of financial losses has taken hold and better days are ahead for Kenya's national airline.

Chief Executive Mbuvi Ngunze will be leaving the airline at the end of March subject to a new CEO having been identified by that time.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong Airlines Introduces Daily Flights To Vancouver, Canada

On 30 June 2017 Hong Kong Airlines, an internationally-acclaimed full-service airline, will operate daily direct flight between Hong Kong and Vancouver by Airbus A330 aircraft. Canada is celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2017, fly to Canada to join the nation-wide festivals with Hong Kong Airlines at HK$3,700* up.

Long accredited one of the world most livable cities, Vancouver in Canada is a year-round destination for all kinds of travelers, a mix of natural charm and bustling city life. In winter, Grouse Mountain in north Vancouver or nearby Whistler is the ultimate paradise for skiers and snowboarders; in spring time get enchanted by the flower beds in the world’s best park Stanley Park; summer in Vancouver is the season of beaches and festivals and in fall, the city turns into a gigantic palette of yellow, orange and red colours.

Mr. Li Dianchun, Chief Commercial Officer of Hong Kong Airlines said, “This new route service is Hong Kong Airlines’ debut in North America, we wish to attract as many visitors as possible to see the beautiful city of Vancouver, as well as encourage family reunions or business co-operation. The new route will also open up more opportunities for travelers worldwide to leverage our connectivity in Asia, hence bringing more diverse and convenient travel options for travelers from Hong Kong, the Pearl River Delta region, Oceania and North America.”

“Hong Kong Airlines is a well-known, family-friendly airline based in a world class city, and we are thrilled to be able to offer the public even more options to travel between Vancouver and Hong Kong,” said Craig Richmond, President and CEO, Vancouver Airport Authority. “Every new airline that chooses to fly to YVR means more jobs for the local economy and creates new opportunities for British Columbians.”

HONG KONG: Passengers Kept Awake And Hungry At Hong Kong International Airport

A combination of military drills and bad weather in eastern China left thousands of passengers headed for Shanghai and nearby cities stranded at Hong Kong International Airport for more than 12 hours.

At least 13 flights scheduled for Shanghai Pudong International Airport from 10.55am were still grounded at the airport by 9pm. Passengers with Cathay Pacific, Dragonair, Hong Kong Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, Juneyao Airlines, and Spring Airlines were affected.

No flights departed for Shanghai Pudong International Airport from Hong Kong after 10am because of a combination of air traffic restrictions over eastern China caused by a military drill in the morning and rainy weather in the afternoon, according to airport ground staff.

Zhang Jun, a Dragonair passenger who was having his 50th birthday, was one of many passengers who had been waiting since 4pm. “My biggest birthday wish is to leave now,” he said, standing next to the airline’s counter as it was besieged by angry passengers.

Zhang said he is a frequent traveller to Shanghai but has never seen delays of this kind.

“I have lots of experience with delays on the mainland caused by air traffic control. What I cannot accept is being given new departure times every two hours. If there is no departure time, tell us there is no time.”

A Cathay manager at the scene denied the departure times were arbitrarily set but said they were based on possible departure slots from Shanghai air traffic control.

Passengers in transit who had come from long-haul flights from New York, New Delhi and Singapore complained Cathay Pacific and Dragonair had kept them awake too long without offering any place to rest, nor any food or drink while waiting, endangering their health. They were unsatisfied with the airlines’ explanation of the situation and demanded compensation.

“We are a group of 19 seniors. Many of us have not slept for nearly 24 hours. Now it’s 10pm, we do not want to leave anymore and just want to be put in a hotel and rest. They kept lying to us by giving us new times and keeping us waiting here,” said Ren Hongxing, a 70-year old man from Shanghai who was returning from a Malaysia-Singapore tour via Hong Kong.

Passengers on his flight had boarded and waited for four hours on the aircraft before being offloaded. A delay certificate issued by Dragonair said the flight - originally scheduled for 1pm - was delayed because of “adverse weather” and “air traffic flow control”.

Dragonair ground staff said “Shanghai has given us no time. We do not know if and when a flight could take off.”

Air traffic controls over eastern China last summer caused delays of up to 15 hours at the Hong Kong international airport.

Cathay cancelled CX5808/KA808, a Shanghai Pudong bound flight originally scheduled for 4:55pm, at around 10pm. By 11pm, passengers on the 10:55am CX 5804/KA804 flight had boarded the plane but still did not take off.

Hundreds of passengers from three other Shanghai-bound flights were still waiting near midnight in the hope of getting a chance to depart.

As of 9am Wednesday morning, all flights had been rescheduled and many were still waiting to depart.

CHINA: Aviation Stocks Go High

Industry glut due to Chinese airlines’ aggressive expansion is being alleviated, analysts say.

Aviation stocks rose the most among A shares on Wednesday, even though Chinese travel fervour during the Labour Day holidays was not strong enough to keep planes as full as they were last year.

China Southern Airlines rose by the daily limit of 10 per cent while five other airlines listed in Shanghai rose at least 6.29 per cent. Airline and airport stocks as a whole rose 6.9 per cent, compared with a 0.05 per cent dip in the Shanghai Composite Index.

But Chinese airlines did not do particularly well during the “mini golden week”. Haitong Securities said passenger load factor – a measure of plane utilisation – slid 2 percentage points on average at mainland airlines during this year’s Labour Day holidays, compared with last year’s.

Chinese airlines have been aggressively expanding, especially on international long-haul routes, in order to tap the travel potential of the world’s most populous nation. That has outpaced demand growth and resulted in weak sales in recent months.

Despite a 7 per cent rise in mainland visitor number to Hong Kong during the period to 470,000 – the highest in four years – load factor at Hong Kong Airlines remained flat compared with the same period last year, the airline’s commercial director, Li Dianchun, said.

“Most of that increase had come from border-crossers on land. We didn’t feel much of a boost,” he said.

Yu Nan, a Shanghai-based analyst with Haitong, said aviation stocks, which had “significantly underperformed”, had been buoyed by valuation correction and improving fundamentals.

“There are signs that the industry’s supply-and-demand imbalance is getting better,” he said. “Business was weak in recent months because capacity grew too fast during the low season. Now we enter May, demand is picking up.”

Yu said that although the airlines’ planes were emptier than at the same time last year, the absolute load factor numbers showed supply-and-demand had improved.

Haitong said mainland airlines’ booking rates for the coming seven days are 5 percentage points higher than last year, 2 percentage points higher for the coming two weeks and 1 percentage point higher for the coming three weeks, showing a rebound.

Yu said airline stock might rise further, mainly because they had been underperforming. “Plus the Disney factor [in Shanghai], there is room for valuation correction,” he said. His top pick for the medium-term is Shanghai-based Juneyao Airlines.

KAZAKHSTAN: Air Astana Signs Codeshare Agreement With Hong Kong Airlines

Air Astana has signed a codeshare agreement with Hong Kong Airlines, making it the Kazakh carrier’s seventh codeshare partner. Air Astana customers now have the opportunity to book tickets of both airlines to reach Hong Kong Airlines’ destinations in China, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan and Vietnam.

*Note: All departures and arrivals are listed in local time

Air Astana operates services to Hong Kong twice weekly (Tuesdays and Fridays) with a Boeing 757 configured with 16 Business Class and 150 Economy Class seats. The flight time from Almaty to Hong Kong is 5 hours 50 minutes. The service was launched in August 2012 and since then Air Astana has carried 74,000 passengers and 1,300 tons of cargo on the route.

Mr Ibrahim Canliel, Senior Vice President Marketing and Sales of Air Astana, said, “The codeshare agreement marks the strengthening of the link between Hong Kong and Kazakhstan, a route established in 2012. We are pleased to offer Hong Kong Airlines and their customers an enhanced network to Kazakhstan and our beyond network in Central Asia, Russia and Europe. With the introduction of the visa free regime for passport holders of HKSAR and the start of services, we have seen an increasing number of visitors to Kazakhstan. With the start of the codeshare, we aim to enhance the reach to even more customers in Hong Kong Airlines’ home market and their beyond network offering a convenient gateway along the Silk Road to the Heart of Eurasia”.

Mr Li Dianchun, Chief Commercial Officer of Hong Kong Airlines, said, “We are delighted to start our partnership with Air Astana to extend our network further to Almaty, the trading and cultural hub of Kazakhstan. This marks Hong Kong Airlines’ another step to the Central Asia, and is also our first codeshare agreement in 2016. The two airlines have a lot in common, for example, both are young and committed to delivering quality products and service as Skytrax 4-Star airlines. I believe our passengers will enjoy the distinguished service provided by Air Astana.”

Hong Kong SAR passport holders are able to travel visa fee to Kazakhstan, as are Kazakh citizens visiting Hong Kong.

Tickets under the codeshare agreement for travel period from today onwards can be purchased via travel agents or through the airlines’ sales offices and call centres.

HONG KONG: Travel And Tourism In Hong Kong To 2019

Hong Kong's domestic travel market is considerably smaller than the outbound market as there is a lack of local recreational activities, which encourages residents to take holidays outside the country.

Driven by promotional efforts, international arrivals registered strong growth at a CAGR of 8.4% during 20102014. Leisure is the main purpose of travel for inbound tourists.

Hong Kongs travel and tourism sector performed well during the historic period (20092014), supported by a rise in both domestic and inbound trips.

International arrivals to the country increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.41%, with total inbound tourist expenditure rising at a historic period CAGR of 7.91%.

The main factors for growth were government efforts to promote the countrys travel and tourism sector on an international level.

Furthermore, following Chinas tourism promotion in Hong Kong, overall departures reached 31 million, with China being the top destination market, and accounting for 74.4% of the total outbound trips in 2014.

Hong Kong Airlines has launched an in-flight service in 2015 called "Sweeten You Up". This service includes different packages for occasions such as marriage proposals, anniversaries, and birthdays. Through this service, the passenger can celebrate the occasion while onboard by making a preliminary booking for the particular service required.

For the promotion of this service, the airline has launched a separate website and also made this facility available on its mobile application

Overall, Macao registered a decline in arrivals by 3.5% during the first seven months in 2015, so in order to attract more tourists from Hong Kong, the Tourist Office of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) launched an Experience Macao Carnival road show in Hong Kong.

This road show was held in order to promote events such as the Macao Grand Prix and "Parade through Macao, Latin City, which is a cultural event conducted annually by the Cultural Affairs Bureau.

Historic and forecast tourist volumes covering the entire Hong Kong Travel & Tourism sector:-

Detailed analysis of tourist spending patterns for various categories, such as accommodation, sightseeing entertainment, foodservice, transportation, retail, travel intermediaries, and others

Analysis of trips by purpose and mode of transport, and expenditure across various categories including domestic, inbound, and outbound tourism, with analysis using similar metrics

Analysis of the airline, hotel, car rental, and travel intermediaries industries by customer type leisure and business travelers

Reasons To Buy:-

Make strategic business decisions using historic and forecast market data related to Hong Kongs Travel & Tourism sector

Understand the demand-side dynamics within the industry to identify key market trends and growth opportunities

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HONG KONG: Hong Kong Airlines Launches Multi-Currency Pricing Payment Solution

AsiaPay, the premier ePayment service and technology player in Asia and Hong Kong Airlines, the internationally-acclaimed Skytrax 4-star airline, have today announced a collaboration with FEXCO, the leading independent global provider of Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) and Multi-Currency Pricing (MCP) technologies which will see FEXCO's world class MCP solution offered to passengers of Hong Kong Airlines.

As a premier electronic payment solution and technology vendor and payment service provider, AsiaPay, strives to bring advanced, secure, integrated and cost-effective electronic payment processing solutions and services to banks, corporate and eBusinesses in the worldwide market. The solution developed by AsiaPay and FEXCO aims to assist merchants with customer retention, brand awareness and in attracting international customers.

The partnership will see FEXCO's Currency Risk Management MCP solution fully integrated into the Hong Kong Airlines core operating system and website offering multiple benefits to both the airline and the passenger including a more customised and transparent shopping experience. Through FEXCO's MCP platform, the airline can offer their fares and ancillary products in multiple currencies. The passenger selects their preferred currency in which to browse the website and ultimately make payment in providing them with clarity on the price in a currency they are familiar with.

"We are proud to implement this new real-time currency conversion service to Hong Kong Airlines together with FEXCO. Being leading ePayment service player in Asia, we understand and strive to address the ever-changing consumer needs for more user-friendly, safe and convenient way to pay for online travel services," said Mr. Joseph Chan, CEO of AsiaPay.

Mr. Denis Cleary, Managing Director of FEXCO DCC, comments, "The integration of FEXCO's MCP technology into the Hong Kong Airline's system brings significant benefits to both the airline and to the passenger. The solution delivers a more customised shopping experience for the passenger, simultaneously creating a risk free opportunity to generate increased revenue for the airline. We are delighted to announce this partnership and greatly look forward to working together."

Mr. Li Dianchun, Commercial Director of Hong Kong Airlines, comments, "This is a welcome advancement both for our passenger base and indeed for the airline itself. Our goal is to continue to innovate so we can better serve our passengers, this partnership delivers them a tailored and transparent payment solution allowing them to better determine value on their purchase, in a currency they're familiar with - ultimately saving them valuable time."