Oasis Airlines, a new Hong Kong based, low-cost, long-haul airline, has started booking today!
http://www.oasishongkong.com/intro.aspx?p=111

Booked! I tried three times yesterday but their website kept crashing. I finally got through by phone this morning and reserved my seats for £75 each way or £261.05 return including all taxes and fees from the 8th December until the 23rd. I will now book return flights from Hong Kong to the Philippines. :)

Glasgowman originally posted this New York Times article in the Travel & Geography section:


Low Cost Long Haul Flights

Following the phenomenal success of no-frills, low-cost airlines in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, we are now seeing the emergence of budget airlines operating on international long-haul routes.

For instance, Zoom Airlines (www.flyzoom.com), a Canadian carrier, operates low-cost service from eight Canadian cities to London (Gatwick), Glasgow, Manchester, Cardiff and Belfast in Britain, and Paris. Zoom operates Boeing 767-300’s with 268 seats. Economy passengers get a 31-inch seat pitch and meals and drinks; premium economy offers 36 inches of legroom and an extra baggage allowance. A search recently turned up round-trip fares between London and Toronto this month starting at $205 in economy, $355 in premium economy.

Air Sahara (www.airsahara.net), based in New Delhi, operates a network of services within the subcontinent and between Delhi and London, and Delhi and Singapore. One-way fares from London (Heathrow) to Delhi start at around $235. Beginning in October, the start-up budget carrier Oasis Hong Kong Airlines (www.oasis-air.com) will operate Boeing 747-400’s, with seat-back entertainment and hot meals, though passengers can order a “gourmet food service” at extra cost. Oasis has announced one-way fares between London (Gatwick) and Hong Kong from $141 plus tax. It plans to add service between Hong Kong and Milan, Berlin, Cologne/Bonn and Oakland and Chicago.

The Scottish airline Flyglobespan (www.flyglobespan.com) operates a fleet that includes Boeing 767-300 aircraft with three classes: no-frills economy with a 30-inch seat pitch (you must buy your own meals and drinks); premium economy with a 34-inch pitch and full meals and drinks service; and business, with 50-inch sleeper seats. The airline operates from Glasgow, Edinburgh and London to more than a dozen European cities, and to Orlando, Fla.; additional routes will be offered this winter. One-way fares from Glasgow to Orlando this month start at about $280; premium economy, $385.

Icelandair (www.icelandair.com), a forerunner of cheap trans-Atlantic flights, offers flights between Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Glasgow, London, Oslo, Paris, and Stockholm (via Reykjavik) and Baltimore/Washington, Boston, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Orlando and New York, with full service at low-cost fares (along with seven other cities in summer only). A recent search for dates this month from New York to London found rates from $762.

I was checking out Zoom's airfares earlier this year when I was planning my flight to London from Canada, and in the end settled with Transat even though the fares were virtually identical. Zoom doesn't offer daily services to London but if you happen to stumble across a discount fare it can be extremely cheap. Sadly, taxes add up to about CAD$200+.

^ The taxes, fees, and surcharges for a return fare on the London to Hong Kong route add up to even more at CAD$230 (£110, €163, US$206). However Oasis still offer fares that are £100 (CAD$215) cheaper than best fares on Cathay, Virgin, or BA and also much cheaper than the Middle Eastern carriers too.

£261 isn't that cheap

you can get fares of £300 return with a normal airline easily

I thought they would be more like £200

£261 isn't that cheap

you can get fares of £300 return with a normal airline easily

I thought they would be more like £200

no but 261 is incldg tax and fees. so it's only 150 return.

you can get fares of £300 return with a normal airline easilyNo you can't. Even the special offers aren't as low as that. Unless, as vvill has pointed out, you are not including taxes, fees, surcharges etc.

I was checking out Zoom's airfares earlier this year when I was planning my flight to London from Canada, and in the end settled with Transat even though the fares were virtually identical. Zoom doesn't offer daily services to London but if you happen to stumble across a discount fare it can be extremely cheap. Sadly, taxes add up to about CAD$200+.
what's the website for Transat?

£261 isn't that cheap

you can get fares of £300 return with a normal airline easily

I thought they would be more like £200
the thing about OasisHongKong is that you can even get those record low price even during the peak season (you just have to buy it early to hold the spot). It can be MUCH lower than any carrier can possibly offer.

I'm more interested in how the C-class is on Oasis. £470 is damn cheap for a C ticket LON-HKG...

I'm more interested in how the C-class is on Oasis. £470 is damn cheap for a C ticket LON-HKG...

mmm - the standard of service however i think is highly doubtful! :)
i think it'd be slightly safer if you wait till the first flight commences.

from kaka.ac from http://www.skyscrapers.cn (http://www.skyscrapers.com)
於 2006-9-22 12:49 AM 發表

甘泉香港航空10月啟航

甘泉香港航空於二零零六年十月正式隆重啟航，我們的宗旨是為旅客提供創新的飛行選擇，並承諾讓更多人士能享用長途航班服務。無論旅客選乘商務或經濟客位，我們不但提供超乎想像的超值票價，更會為旅客提供靈活的個人化服務選擇。我們首先會開辦香港來回倫敦直飛的航班，並計劃於不久將來提供前往歐洲和北美的其他航線。我們深信，這嶄新的經營模式將為來往亞洲的長途旅遊市場帶來全新面貌。

甘泉香港航空致力以較優惠的價錢，為商業及渡假旅客提供更貼身的長途航班服務。本公司紮根香港，承諾貫徹服務盡善盡美的宗旨，堅守高尚的經營守則，並以關心和尊重的態度對待員工、顧客及業務夥伴。我們會以較相宜的價錢為旅客提供舒適而高水準的服務，同時保證安全至上的營運方針。甘泉香港航空會繼續為建立一個屬於香港的航空文化而作出貢獻，同時協助鞏固香港作為亞太區領先航空樞紐的地位。


from Kok Chwee SIM http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1113156/L/
http://www.skyscrapers.cn/forum/attachments/1113156_n7yDWsx0lUkD.jpg
Oasis HongKong Airlines - a new international low-cost carrier received its first B747-400 (an ex-Singapore Airlines aircraft) today. What a beautiful livery . . . although it is a bit abstract. It departed SIN at 1400hrs and arrived in HKG 3.5 hours later.

from daniel http://hkadb.no-ip.org ( http://hkadb.no-ip.org:8080/hkadb/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9971)

Hey everyone, today i pop by the airport then was surprise to see this Oasis Hongkong aircraft. Nice colour but too bad i didn't bring camera, i use my phone camera to capture the plane. Therefore i apologised for the bad quality. :(

B-LFA, Oasis Hongkong, departed SIN around 1405. The front body got a big "OASIS HONGKONG" word and at the back got some words which i can't catch it.

Hope to see a better picture of this aircraft.

Pardon my ignorance, may i know what airline is this? A new commercial airline from HK or was it meant to be budget??? :roll:


http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e257/cxsiaDan/DSC001592.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e257/cxsiaDan/DSC00160.jpg

A CI A300 just arrived from Taipei as CI661
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e257/cxsiaDan/DSC001632.jpg[/quote]

from stewardchanst http://hkadb.no-ip.org (http://hkadb.no-ip.org:8080/hkadb/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9971&start=30)
http://hkadb.no-ip.org:8080/hkadb/forum/files/oasis_119.jpg

just found this from their website: (notice the text that i highlighted)

OASIS HONG KONG AIRLINES SELLS OVER 10,000 TICKETS IN ITS FIRST TWO WEEKS


21 September 2006 Hong Kong


Hong Kong’s first and only low fare, long-haul airline has just arrived at Chek Lap Kok Airport

The hottest tickets in town at only HK$1000 still available for Christmas and Chinese New Year — book now!

Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, Hong Kong’s only low fare, long-haul airline, today announced that it has sold an average of 1,100 tickets a day since it started accepting reservations.

Oasis Hong Kong Airlines also celebrated another milestone as its first aircraft arrived at Chek Lap Kok Airport on September 19.

Despite the extraordinary ticket sales record achieved, currently the incredible HK$1,000 “hot deal” tickets are still available for Christmas and Chinese New Year. Booking early is advised as over half of the tickets in this price bracket have already been sold! Oasis Hong Kong Airlines’ price promise ensures 10% of economy class seats on every flight at this amazing rate for at least one year after its launch. (so my question is what will happen after the first year? the super low price ticket will be reduced to 5%? or totally eliminated?)

In addition to travel agents, ticket bookings through direct channels including the internet and their customer service call centre have proved very popular.

Stephen Miller, Chief Executive Officer of Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, said “With over 500,000 visitors and 5,000 telephone enquiries to date — Oasis Hong Kong Airlines has captured the imagination of thousands. Sales have exceeded expectations in comparison to other start-up airlines with over 10,000 tickets sold in the past 14 days. As enquiries increasingly become purchases — dreams are turning into reality for our passengers and the Oasis Hong Kong Airlines family.

“We have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of our first aircraft and take great pride in announcing that it landed at the Hong Kong International Airport the day before yesterday. Now that it’s here we can complete the final steps in obtaining the Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) which we have been working closely with authorities on over the last year. We have every confidence that we will receive the AOC by the inaugural flight date — the 25th of October.”

Oasis Hong Kong Airlines currently owns two Boeing 747-400s (previously owned and maintained by Singapore Airlines) with plans to expand to a fleet of five aircraft by the end of 2007. Engineering and maintenance will be carried out by HAECO, the leading aviation maintenance provider in Asia.

About Oasis Hong Kong Airlines

Taking off from 25th October 2006, Oasis Hong Kong Airlines is pioneering a fresh approach to provide passengers the best choice in low fare, long distance travel. The airline is committed to making long haul flights accessible to more people. Travellers can choose to fly non-stop business or economy from Hong Kong to London, from as little as HK$1,000 one-way, with further destinations planned.

For more information and bookings visit the website oasishongkong.com

Photo to download:
http://ftp.hillandknowlton.com.hk/oasis/Oasis_Aircraft.zip

Photo Captions:

Raymond C. Lee and Priscilla H. Lee, Chairman and Executive Director of Oasis Hong Kong Airlines take pride in receiving the company’s first aircraft.
Oasis Hong Kong Airlines’ first Boeing 747-400 landed at the Hong Kong International Airport on September 19.

from http://www.skyscrapers.cn/ (http://www.skyscrapers.cn/forum/viewthread.php?tid=24678&extra=page%3D1)

http://www.skyscrapers.cn/forum/attachments/6_5HcoD2GMVMP7.jpg

now ALL seats are sold at the lowest price for Oct and Nov departure date, check it out!!

HK site: http://www.oasishongkong.com/hk/en/promotion.aspx
UK site: http://www.oasishongkong.com/gb/en/promotion.aspx

Oasis Airlines gets certificate five days before first flight
21 October 2006
South China Morning Post

Hong Kong Oasis Airlines, the city's and possibly the world's first long-haul budget airline, yesterday received its air operator's certificate from the aviation department just five days before the carrier is scheduled to start flights to London.

It is the first certificate issued by Hong Kong to an inter-continental carrier in 60 years. The last such certificate went to Cathay Pacific Airways.

"It is quite a milestone to start as a long-haul carrier," Oasis chief executive Stephen Miller said yesterday. "I've always believed in the long haul. It's much more productive, efficient and easier to manage but perception-wise the entry barrier is probably higher."

From Wednesday, Oasis will fly to London's Gatwick Airport four times a week.

The company, owned by real estate entrepreneur Raymond Lee Cho-min, is selling one-way economy tickets from HK$1,000 and business class seats from HK$6,600 before taxes and surcharges.

The Oasis fleet consists of two Boeing 747-400 aircraft it bought from Singapore Airlines and refitted at a cost of US$100 million.

The company plans to add a US route in the first quarter of next year, flying several times a week to Oakland, California. To do so it will need to expand its fleet and has yet to finalise arrangements with providers.

"Obviously we need more aircraft," Mr Miller said. "We are sourcing aircraft now."

Oasis originally planned to start flights to Europe and the US a year ago. Its initial application to the Air Transport Licensing Authority was blocked for several months last year by objections from rival local operators including Cathay.

Subsequent difficulties in sourcing aircraft forced further delays.

More recently, local press reports said Oasis was having trouble securing its air operator's certificate, which involves detailed inspections and safety certifications.

Mr Miller, who rejected those reports, this week said the company had sold a relatively modest 16,000 tickets on scheduled London flights up to March.

"Some people don't like to risk HK$1,000," he said, citing negative media reports. "We expect quite a big take up once the news gets out that we have our operator's certificate."

Oasis becomes Hong Kong's fifth commercial airline. Mr Lee last month said the company would eventually seek to list in Hong Kong to help drive expansion.

fly to melbourne oasis!!!

I wonder if Oasis will develop as a long-haul rival to Cathay Pacific in the same way that Virgin Atlantic rivalled British Airways? The main difference is that Virgin did not pitch lower than BA - it never marketted itself as "low-cost". Indeed Virgin competed with BA to provide even more luxury. Anyway I wish Oasis the best of success. I am flying to Hong Kong in December for £261 return including all taxes and fees (the tickets themselves were just £150). That price is unprecedented. If they can sustain that fare then I will use Oasis and Hong Kong every time I travel to E/SE Asia - currently about three times per year.

Globe-trotting on no-frills flights
Hong Kong start-up enters uncharted skies with London service
By Bruce Stanley
25 October 2006
The Wall Street Journal Asia

HONG KONG -- The flight from here to London isn't a short hop, but starting today you can make it on a budget airline.

Oasis Hong Kong Airlines is launching the low-cost carrier model into largely uncharted skies by offering long-distance flights, first to London and later, it hopes, to Oakland, California, and Chicago. Several other budget airlines are preparing to take off with similar ideas of their own.

The Hong Kong start-up plans to kick off nonstop service to London's Gatwick Airport, flying four times a week with a pair of secondhand 747-400 jetliners. Unlike many of its no-frills counterparts, Oasis will provide meals at no extra cost -- passengers can choose between Western and Asian dishes -- as well as free beverages and in-flight entertainment on the 12-hour flight.

The budget-airline phenomenon has spread steadily in recent years across the U.S., to Europe and now into Asia. Carriers such as Southwest Airlines, JetBlue and Ryanair have succeeded by sticking to a pretty consistent script, no matter where they operate. They fly short distances to secondary airports and turn their planes around as quickly as possible to make multiple flights each day. This approach has kept most budget airlines operating only within a single geographic region.

Enter Oasis, which is offering promotional economy-class fares of HK$1,634 (US$210) and business-class fares of HK$7,234, one way. This compares with its much bigger rival, Cathay Pacific Airways, which currently offers coach seats from Hong Kong to London's Heathrow Airport for HK$4,131 and business-class seats for HK$28,401. These fares include airport taxes, fuel surcharges and other fees.

By offering cut-rate pricing between continents, Oasis hopes to change the rules for low-cost carriers. What's more, it is trying to coordinate its schedules and operations with those of other budget airlines in Britain and the U.S. If it succeeds, Oasis could wind up forging the first links of a world-wide network of low-cost carriers.

"It would be a sort of strategic alliance," says Oasis' chief executive and founder, Stephen Miller.

Oasis is taking to the skies at a tough time for the global airline industry. Rampant competition and stubbornly high fuel prices are costing airlines billions of dollars in losses. But the British-born Mr. Miller says he has spotted an opportunity for an efficient upstart in the long-distance market.

He says that aircraft consume less fuel and suffer less wear and tear while at cruising speeds than they do during takeoffs and landings, which makes them more efficient over long distances than on frequent short hops. And while other airlines typically fly their planes as many as 12 hours a day, he plans to work each of his 747s for 15 hours or more daily.

"We're going to keep our costs low, not by skimping but through high productivity," Mr. Miller says. "That's the key to our business plan, the high utilization."

Oasis also has hired U.K.-based pilots, to avoid having to pay for expensive expatriates in Hong Kong, and has outsourced catering, engineering and other support services to minimize costs.

Mr. Miller, an aviation-industry veteran who launched Hong Kong Dragon Airlines, or Dragon Air, during the 1980s, says Cathay Pacific has a weak spot in its lucrative Hong Kong-London route. (Cathay Pacific took over Dragon Air from its major Chinese shareholders in September.) Although Mr. Miller expects Cathay to drop its own ticket prices in response to Oasis' fares, he argues that it won't want to undercut the newcomer, because Cathay's many corporate clients would then demand deep fare cuts on other routes as well.

A Cathay spokeswoman declined to comment other than to say the carrier plans to remain competitive.

But while Cathay, one of the world's most efficient airlines, would be a formidable competitor, UBS aviation analyst Damien Horth says "there may be room for both to succeed."

Oasis' primary competitive targets are carriers, such as Gulf Air and Qatar Airways, that make their passengers change planes in Dubai, Bangkok and other cities on their way to London. Mr. Miller estimates that some 20% of the passengers flying between Hong Kong and Europe make at least one stopover. He says he believes that Oasis can win over these passengers by offering to fly them nonstop for the same price they are paying now for a longer, indirect journey.

Oasis plans to ramp up to seven flights each week to London in November. For businesspeople who need flexibility in their travel plans, this may not be enough to make them switch from more expensive airlines that offer the convenience of more-frequent flights. But Oasis hopes executives who are self-employed or who work at small companies may feel less constrained.

"It's what I would call an experiment," says Peter Hilton, an analyst at investment bank Credit Suisse. "You can't say it won't work, because they're dealing with a market that really hasn't been probed before."

Skeptics question whether Oasis can even survive. "I genuinely don't understand it," says Robbie Baird, British Airways' general manager for the Asian-Pacific region. Mr. Baird says he doesn't see how Oasis can break so many rules of the low-cost-carrier business model and still prosper.

Still, other budget airlines are winging their way into long-haul territory. Australian budget carrier Jetstar plans to start flying next month from Sydney to Honolulu. Viva Macau, a Macau-based carrier set to make its debut later this year, aims to offer low-cost flights to Europe and the U.S. In Europe, Ryanair this month offered to pay 1.4 billion euros (US$1.76 billion) for Aer Lingus, seeking to combine its own short-haul operations with the long-haul flights of its Irish rival.

Oasis, which hopes to operate 25 planes within five years, appears to be the most ambitious of the bunch. The closely held company, owned by a number of Hong Kong investors, wants to start nonstop flights to Oakland International Airport by next April, after acquiring at least two more planes. Next up, it says, will be Chicago, by the end of next year. In Europe, Oasis hopes to add flights to Berlin and Cologne, Germany, and Milan.

If it can establish itself, "the natural progression" would be for Oasis to coordinate its operations with those of other low-cost carriers, says Ken Chad, its commercial director.

Budget carriers have been talking about this for a long time, Mr. Chad says. "There's been a lot of speculation generally about who's going to join the dots, or if the dots will be joined at all. . . . If it can be done in a simple way, without too many complications for the customer, then we're definitely interested."

Oasis executives say they have met already with counterparts from Britain's easyJet, which has an extensive network in Europe, to discuss dovetailing their flight schedules and transfers of passengers and baggage at Gatwick, a hub for easyJet.

EasyJet spokeswoman Samantha Day declines to confirm such talks. "The problem with harmonizing schedules is you each have your own priorities. When you start working with partner airlines, this gets a lot more complicated," she says.

Mr. Miller says Oasis also has talked with representatives of Southwest Airlines and JetBlue about coordinating connecting flights and baggage handling at Oakland, where both U.S. carriers operate. Oasis is waiting until it can confirm a starting date for its flights to Oakland before pursuing the idea with senior management of either American carrier, he says.

World's first long-haul budget airline cancels inaugural Hong Kong flight

HONG KONG, Oct 25, 2006 (AFP) - Oasis Airlines, the world's first long-haul budget airline, was Wednesday forced to cancel its inaugural flight from Hong Kong after failing to obtain rights to fly over Russian aerospace.

"It's extremely unfortunate and we are very disappointed. We are doing all we can to resolve the problem," Oasis commercial director Ken Chad told AFP.

Chad said the carrier is seeking to fly again to London's Gatwick Airport on Thursday afternoon and is looking at alternative routes if it still fails to get approval from the Russian authorities.

Oasis was forced to abort its flight after 300 passengers, including the carrier's chairman Raymond Lee and chief executive Stephen Miller, were stuck in one of its two Boeing 747 jumbos for nearly six hours due to a last-minute hold-up in approval to overfly Russian aerospace.

"We are in talks with the Russia authorities. We paid for the overfly rights and we got the approval code, and yet at the last minute, they held us up," Chad said. "We have not had any explanation."

He said the airline will offer 500 Hong Kong dollars (65 US) transportation fee to all local residents, free accommodation and food for foreign travellers as well as a free flight voucher to all passengers on board.

Local TV reported some angry passengers demanding more compensation from the airline.

Economy passengers paid just 1,000 Hong Kong dollars (128 US dollars) for the one-way journey, a special introductory offer that will last until December 14. Business travellers paid just 6,600 dollars.

"Our vision is to give Hong Kong high-quality, low-fare and direct flight services," Lee said at the launch.

Industry analysts are watching Oasis closely as it competes against Asia's leading airline Cathay and Britain's established British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, which charge at least double the price on the same route.

Oasis promises full-value service at budget prices -- serving two hot meals and complementary tea, coffee and water with soft drinks, snacks and alcohol available for purchase in the economy class.

Both economy and business classes have personal seat-back TVs with a choice of up to 16 video entertainment channels, offering films including last year's "Batman Begins" and "Ocean's 12" from 2004.

The carrier said it hopes the ticket price will remain 30-40 percent lower than other major airlines after its promotional period, while at least 10 percent of the economy class will still cost only 1,000 dollars.

Lee said the airline is actively seeking to increase its fleet to five in its first year of operation, hoping to bring this up to 25 planes in five years.

Lee believes it will take 12-18 months for the carrier to break even.

Oasis boasts an average of 500 bookings daily since it began taking reservations in September and expects ticket sales to reach more than 55,000 in the first quarter and 190,000 in its first year.

Oasis is flying four times a week to and from London and it will begin its daily service from November 25.

It plans to increase its routes by two to three more, including Oakland in San Francisco which will begin service from the first quarter 2007.

Lee said the airline has also obtained license to fly to Chicago, Milan, Berlin and Cologne/Bonn. It is filing applications to operate to Vancouver, Toronto, Zurich, Paris, New York and Los Angeles.

Lee said the carrier is in talks to partner with other budget airlines for connections to the rest of Europe and North America.

It has opened talks with UK-based easyJet and Ryanair, as well as Germanwings, Southwest Airlines and JetBlue.

The airline has also established partnerships with Cargolux and Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (HACTL) to offer cargo services but passenger flights will remain its core service.

Oasis of calm for delayed Hong Kong budget fliers

http://hkadb.no-ip.org:8080/hkadb/forum/files/b_lfa_971.jpg
Photo by da83 from HKADB.

HONG KONG, Oct 26, 2006 (AFP) - Passengers in Hong Kong on what was billed as the world's first long-haul budget flight refused to get too upset Thursday, despite flying a day late and spending six hours sitting on the runway.

"I didn't think anything was going to happen," said British-born passenger Deirdre Leung, a resident of Hong Kong of 29 years, with relief.

But the first fliers on Oasis Airlines did finally get off the ground Thursday, a day after its maiden flight was delayed by Russia's last-minute refusal of overflight rights.

Despite having to sit for six hours crammed in the budget plane with just water and sandwiches for refreshment, Leung said those on board had been largely patient and accepting of their fate.

"Everyone was quite calm but in the last hour, we got a bit fed up," she said.

"But the airline kept us updated what was going on," the 45-year-old school administrator said, adding it was the first time she had been stuck on an airport's tarmac for such a long time.

Oasis claims to be the world's first long-distance budget airline, offering a four-weekly service between Hong Kong and London at just 1,000 Hong Kong dollars (128 US dollars) one way.

The inaugural flight was planned for 1:00 pm (0500 GMT) Wednesday, but a last-minute refusal of overflight rights by Russia forced the plane to sit on the tarmac for more than six hours as officials tried to sort out the problem.

Eventually all the almost 300 passengers were allowed off the plane and the flight rescheduled for Thursday.

Such delays may be typical of the budget airline experience in other parts of the world, but Oasis spared no expense in making sure its first passengers were compensated for their ordeal.

The delayed passengers were offered money, a flight on another airline or another Oasis ticket. Overseas travellers were also given hotel rooms and local flyers were provided transport home.

As a result, most passengers were surprisingly buoyant as they returned to check-in for the second time in two days.

"We are going to be compensated quite well," said Leung. "I think I will recommend this to family and friends because you are not penalised on a return flight," she said.

"I hope Oasis will be able to continue with this because the price is quite affordable."

Not all were so unfazed, though. Jay Law, who was travelling with his girlfriend, had his five-day package tour to London cancelled by the travel agent due to the flight cancellation.

"We've been phoning the travel insurance company, they did not want to deal with us. We made complaints to the Hong Kong Tourism Association, they said they can't help us," he said. "I have no mood to travel now."

But even he found it difficult to complain too much.

"The airline has tried its best because the others won't. They are looking for hotels for us," he said.

by JP from http://hkadb.no-ip.org:8080/hkadb/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10550

經過航權的問題後"Oasis HongKong"終於可以在26號下午一時多啟程前往英個倫敦的格域了,希望Oasis以後的運作可以順順利利啦~

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A long way to go
The delay of its maiden flight last week suggests that Hong Kong's newest carrier is flying on business principles yet to be fully tested.
Can an airline be both budget and long-haul?
29 October 2006
South China Morning Post

On paper, the concept behind creating a low-fare, long-haul-only airline seemed simple enough. People want direct, non-stop flights to long-haul destinations but prefer the generally lower prices offered on routes that include one or two stops along the way. By marrying the two, local start-up Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, its backers believe, will be primed to capitalise on this market.

Unfortunately, the second-hand Singapore Airlines 747-400 that is currently being flown - half of the airline's fleet of two - was grounded on Wednesday for its maiden flight to London's Gatwick Airport after permission to fly through Russian airspace was denied at the last minute. The flight took off the next day and arrived at Gatwick on Friday, although the return leg passed over the Middle East as Russian authorities had granted permission only for the maiden flight.

"That is a complexity that we do have as a long-haul carrier. If you're flying in the US, you don't need to have overflight rights for anywhere else. That's a complexity we have, but it's not one that is unresolvable," Oasis commercial director Kenneth Chad said.

Whereas carriers in the US and Europe ply their trades in single markets, Asia's budget start-ups face substantial regulatory hurdles.

"The biggest issue here is international traffic rights," said Derek Sadubin, general manager of the Sydney-based Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. "But we have been seeing a gradual liberalisation of air services agreements across Asia."

Traditionally, the bilateral rights for any two countries' most lucrative routes have been awarded to their flag carriers; in many cases, they are the sole airlines within those countries. But governments, eager to maintain their country's economic momentum, are under increasing pressure to open the biggest travel centres to more competition.

"There are still some pockets of protectionism, but, by and large, we are seeing greater liberalisation," Mr Sadubin said. And that looks set to continue. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations recently committed to lift by 2008 restrictions on the number of flights allowed between the capital cities of its 10 member nations.

The number of seats offered by low-cost carriers in Asia last month jumped 63 per cent as the aggressive budget brigade mounted an additional 17,000 flights compared with last year, according to OAG Worldwide, a travel and transport information firm. They now account for 9 per cent of the seats available in the region, up from 1 per cent just five years ago. One in 10 scheduled flights will be offered by budget carriers this year, compared with 6 per cent last year.

However, Oasis' inaugural flight notwithstanding, the budget long-haul business model remains untested. Investors have been slow to warm to it because the traditional wisdom has been that budget carriers need to fly short sectors with single-aisle aircraft to minimise turnaround times and offer no-frills service.

Long-haul flights, for example, require food to be served.

"If we were just economy class, it would be very difficult for us to compete, but we're not," Mr Chad said.

"What we see is, in fact, a convergence to what we are. We are easyJet meets Emirates. We take the best of both models. We fly an asset where we get very high productivity - we're only long haul. That's what the short-haul carriers are going for."

Oasis will introduce other revenue streams in the near future, such as charging for seat selection, Mr Chad said.

Over longer distances, selling a high proportion of seats is critical.

"If you're flying an empty seat, that seat remains empty for a longer time and distance," Mr Sadubin said.

Mr Chad agrees, which is why Oasis is trying to get its product up and running and expand its fleet as quickly as possible.

"We're aiming for high utilisation. But critics who really understand the industry will say that you've got only one aircraft now, and only two aircraft later, and you're going to fly these aircraft only on a daily service to Gatwick. If you do the calculation, you're not getting that super-high utilisation you're talking about. Now I accept that entirely," Mr Chad said.

"But we don't do things without having a reason. In the beginning, we want to get into this industry, get the product going ... when we get our system running, then we'll increase utilisation. But to do that, we necessarily need more aircraft, so we are aggressively looking for more aircraft, and it's a challenging exercise."

Major international carriers, like Singapore Airlines, that have placed orders for the delayed Airbus A380 aircraft are now holding on to their fleet of 747-400s rather than releasing them to budget airlines like Oasis. The 747-400 is preferred for its high number of seats, allowing for greater economies of scale, Mr Chad said. A two-class configuration can seat a maximum of 524 passengers.

"The Oasis model is untested as yet," airline industry practitioner Gilbert Chow Wun-cheung said. "But I think budget airlines are here to stay."

Expressing optimism, Travel Industry Council executive director Joseph Tung Yao-chung said he was not deterred by the last-minute hiccup.

"The prospect can be good - it all depends on how it operates. The long-haul [budget] flight is rare in Hong Kong and it can offer alternative choices to passengers," Mr Tung said. "Now Oasis offers only a Hong Kong to London flight. I believe some passengers will find the offer attractive."

Susanna Lau Mei-sze, general manager of Hong Tai Travel, said it had a 36-member tour, including the guide, joining the maiden Oasis flight. Six of them dropped out after the flight was delayed.

"We are in a deal with Oasis that projects our co-operation as a long-term one. They also said they would start a North American destination and we are also interested in it," Ms Lau said.

Oasis will fly to Oakland in San Francisco early next year. Its flights to Gatwick will increase from four a week to a daily service starting from November 25. Other destinations will include Cologne/Bonn, Milan and Berlin in Europe, and Chicago. Applications to operate routes to Vancouver, Toronto, Zurich, Paris, New York and Los Angeles have been filed.

Jetstar International, Qantas Airway's answer to the budget phenomenon, has watched Oasis's launch with keen interest. From November 23, Jetstar will begin rolling out low-cost wide-body services from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to Bali, Phuket, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City and Osaka.

More turbulence for new Hong Kong carrier

HONG KONG, Oct 31, 2006 (AFP) - Hong Kong's budget airline Oasis was flying through more trouble Tuesday after it had to delay a flight from London for 16 hours -- less than a week after its maiden voyage was grounded for a day.

The back-up meant its next flight out of Hong Kong was also put back -- the third major delay in the first six flights for Oasis, which is billing itself as the world's first low-cost, long-haul service.

The latest problem arose when a flight due to take off from London's Gatwick airport on Sunday evening instead only left Britain on Monday afternoon.

"There was a huge traffic back-up at Gatwick that forced the delay of the Sunday flight," said an Oasis spokesman.

A report in the English-language South China Morning Post said trouble with a truck towing the plane from the gate at Gatwick, as well as air traffic congestion, had forced it to miss its Sunday take-off slot.

By the time the plane was ready to go, the airport's curfew time had elapsed and air traffic control closed the runways, the report said.

Flight 8707 eventually took off mid-day Monday and landed in Hong Kong about 8:30 am Tuesday.

As Oasis has just one aeroplane, that forced the cancellation until 10:00 am of its 1:00 am flight Tuesday.

The airline says a second plane is due to be delivered sometime next month, when the service hopes to move to one flight each day.

A passenger on Sunday's flight from Gatwick, Chris Chinnery, was quoted by the Post as saying the plane had moved halfway down the taxi-way when it turned off and went back to the gate.

The latest delays follow an embarrassing launch for the airline when its maiden flight last week was held back for a day after Russian authorities at the last minute refused to grant the airline overflight rights.

The near-full plane with more than 300 passengers, including Oasis chairman and Raymond Chan and chief executive Stephen Miller, was forced to wait on the tarmac for six hours before the flight was cancelled.

It eventually took off on Thursday after Russia granted once-only overflight rights.

According to Tuesday's Asian edition of the Financial Times, the airline has since had to take a longer route to avoid Russia, adding an hour and 13 minutes flying time and bumping up already pared down costs.

The report added that airline bosses were due to meet Russian authorities to discuss the issue next week.

Oasis flies four days a week between Hong Kong and London, with introductory one-way prices as low as 1,000 Hong Kong (128 US) dollars.

i just realized that Dragonair's first 747-400BCF is shown here.
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o312/carylam/img_107_327.jpg

Righto, and both 747s in the pic are ex-SIA's.

Oasis has extended its special offer up to Dec 14th. Selling all seats at their lowest price

HK website: http://www.oasishongkong.com/hk/en/promotion/2006001.aspx

Oasis gets clearance for Russian airspace
22 November 2006
South China Morning Post

Hong Kong's first long-haul budget carrier has been granted approval to fly through Russian airspace on a permanent basis, the airline's boss, Raymond Lee Cho-min, said yesterday.

The company's inaugural flight was delayed for 24 hours last month after a last-minute withdrawal of permission to fly over Russia.

The Oasis Airlines chairman also said its second flight to London would take off on Saturday, on the first trip undertaken by its second Boeing 747.

The latest arrangement with Russia comes as the company plans to launch an initial public offering within one to two years to expand its air fleet.

The company plans to buy or lease 25 planes within four to five years, with four to six planes being acquired each year.

"We hope to raise around $800 million {hellip} some people said that they expected we could achieve this target in February next year," Mr Lee said.

He said nine investment banks had expressed interest in helping the company launch the IPO.

But he said priority would be given to Hong Kong investors.

As regards the airline's right to enter Russian airspace, Mr Lee said: "They said that they would give us a permanent right [to enter their air space] starting from December 1. In the meantime, we can enter their airspace from November 20 to 30 under a temporary arrangement."

He said that since the setback on its first takeoff, the number of passengers booking for flights to London had increased steadily.

"Initially, three-fourths of the passengers booking our flight were coming to Hong Kong, but now the proportion between those heading to Hong Kong and those going to London are 50-50," he said.

The company now plans to develop new destinations such as Oakland, California, Vancouver and Germany.

Mr Lee said he hoped their first flight to Oakland would take place in April.

THE SECOND PLANE OF OASIS ARRIVED HK

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v444/LV27/Aircraft/B-LFB_1024b.jpg

Oasis Hong Kong Airlines Successfully Obtains Permission to Fly Over Russian Airspace as Second Boeing 747 Enters Into Service
Hong Kong, December 5, 2006
Press Release

Oasis Hong Kong Airlines today celebrated another milestone as its second Boeing 747-400 entered into service on November 24 and the Federal Air Navigation Authority in Russia granted the airline permission to fly over Russian airspace. The airline is also set to launch a number of exciting new flight routes next year.

Oasis was granted permission by the Federal Air Navigation Authority in Russia on November 28 to fly over Russian airspace. This route will significantly shorten the flying time on the Hong Kong-London route. Oasis flights will now take 12 hours 20 minutes to travel from Hong Kong to London and 10 hours 50 minutes vice versa depending upon prevailing weather conditions.

Stephen Miller, Chief Executive Officer of Oasis said, “We are delighted we now have permission to fly over Russia. With a more direct flight path, we significantly shorten the flying time for our passengers and are committed to continuing our offering of accessible and affordable long haul travel for Hong Kong people and the many more visitors coming here.”

“The arrival of our second Boeing 747 increases the operational robustness of our schedule. After London, we will fly to Oakland (San Francisco area) in California in the first half of 2007 and later to other European and North American cities including Cologne/Bonn, Milan, Berlin and Chicago, providing smart business and leisure travellers with highly competitive fares to a wider range of desirable long haul destinations.”

The two Boeing 747-400s that Oasis owns were previously owned and maintained by Singapore Airlines. The company is actively seeking to acquire up to five aircraft a year and expand its fleet to 25 aircraft by 2010. Engineering and maintenance is carried out by HAECO, the leading aviation maintenance provider in Asia.

Mr. Miller said, “At the moment the average cargo load factor for Oasis is 20% higher than we expected. With the second aircraft in operation and more aircraft acquisitions in the pipeline, a very positive outlook is projected for the airline’s cargo business.”

Flights of the airline have been operating at a 73% average passenger load factor in November, exceeding the company’s expectations. Since Oasis launched its inaugural celebration offer, nearly 40,000 customers have already booked flights with the airline. Oasis offers the smart business and leisure travelers affordable luxury with its low fare businessOasis pricing. Customers can make bookings through travel agents, online at oasishongkong.com or through the customer service call centre (3628 0628).

About Oasis Hong Kong Airlines

Launched in Hong Kong on 26 October 2006, Oasis Hong Kong Airlines is pioneering a fresh approach to provide passengers the best choice in low fare, long distance travel. The airline is committed to making long haul flights accessible to more people. Travellers can choose to fly non-stop business or economy from Hong Kong to London, from as little as HK$6,600 and HK$1,000 one-way, with further destinations planned.

For more information and bookings visit the website oasishongkong.com

I'm currently in the Philippines having flown Oasis from London to Hong Kong. They have been flying over Russia since late November and seem to have gotten over their initial hiccups. The service and free meals were fine. The entertainment system was dated compared to the latest and best but at least you get seat back TVs unlike China Eastern's A340s operating from London to Shanghai.

^^
How was the general experience compared to a "normal" long-haul flight (with, say, BA, KL, AF, SK etc.)?
Any resemblence whatsoever to LCC:s within Europe for example?

^ The service was far superior to low cost airlines within Europe. The likes of Ryanair don't even allow you to recline your seat these days. Meanwhile Oasis are providing two nice meals per flight, seat back TVs, and even the flight attendents were pretty. It may not match the latest and best from Europe and Asia's top ranked full service carriers (British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Cathay Pacific etc...) but, as I said before, I found Oasis far better than, say, China Eastern's A340s operating between Shanghai and London. China Eastern don't provide any seat back TVs and their meals were awful.

HK Oasis Air Hopes To Restart Alliance Talks With EasyJet
26 December 2006

HONG KONG (Dow Jones)--Startup budget carrier Oasis Hong Kong Airlines Ltd., which launched flights to London Gatwick in October, hopes to restart talks with EasyJet PLC (EZJ.LN) to form a possible alliance between the two carriers, Chief Executive Stephen Miller said Wednesday.

"We hope to create a strategic alliance with EasyJet that will allow us to transfer passengers to each other's flights," Miller said.

In June, Miller said Oasis had been in ongoing talks with the U.K. airline, which operates a major hub at London's Gatwick airport, on more convenient arrangements such as codesharing opportunities.

"We have had no further talks since then. On purpose, we want to get our services up and running properly before approaching the airline again."

Miller said he hopes to start talks again with EasyJet after the airline starts daily flights between Hong Kong and London Gatwick in January.

Wednesday, the U.K.'s The Times newspaper reported on its Web site that EasyJet has held exploratory talks with Oasis about setting up an alliance that would allow customers of the low-cost airline to buy intercontinental tickets.

However, the report said the two groups failed to reach an agreement over concerns about the administrative difficulties of making an alliance work.

Oasis, which had been touting the launch of discount longhaul travel with one-way fares to London for as low as HK$1,000 each, has had a turbulent start to its services.

Its maiden flight Oct. 25 was canceled when it failed to gain clearance to fly over Russian airspace, stranding passengers in its parked aircraft for over five hours before allowing them to disembark. Flights had to operate on a longer route before the airline finally got its approval to fly over Russia this month.

"We've had a difficult start...we are the new kids on the block," Miller said. "But since then our on-time performance has been very good. This shows that we got an excellent service."

He said the airline's passenger load factor, or the number of seats it fills on its flights, has been very strong in the past month, at over 80% in December for economy class seats.

"Forward bookings are also looking very good in January and into February," said Miller.

The airline is also in talks with several companies to acquire two additional Boeing 747 aircraft for delivery in May, Miller said, to coincide with the planned launch of flights to Oakland, California in June, which will become its second destination after London.

EasyJet are suppsoed to be in talks with Air Asia and Virgin Atlantic too. The aviation world is full of rumours there days! :)

I think Oasis and EasyJet have a pretty good fit. Oasis can feed long haul traffic from Hong Kong into EasyJet's Europe wide route network and vice versa. However it's a real shame that there isn't an equiavlent of EasyJet at the other end in Hong Kong. A low cost longhaul route between KL and London would be linking the bases of EasyJet and AirAsia. That would be fantastic. However the rumours are that AirAsia's planned route may go to Manchester (where there is very little low cost airline activity), that the service may stop over in Dubai or Amritsar (defeating the advantage of low cost longhaul over the Gulf carriers), or that the longhaul part will be operated by Virgin Atlantic (an airline that doesn't have a low cost structure or culture). It's still not clear what they're going to come up. We'll just have to wait and see.... :)

I don't know how appealing Oasis will be to easyJet. It's just 1 airline flying once a day feeding into easyJet's vast network.

^ Yes but soon they will be feeding several planes per day into different European airports - and they're 747-400s too - several times larger than each EasyJet A319. Even a fairly small percentage of transfer passengers from Oasis could add 10% to the load factor of several EasyJet flights. However EasyJet have already stated that they don't want to join an alliance with any longhaul partners. In my opinion they don't need to have a formal alliance or coodination. It's enough that Oasis feed into EasyJet's base at Gatwick which has now eclipsed Luton and Stansted as EasyJet's largest London base. Passengers will plan their own transfers.

Oasis waits for Vancouver route
13 February 2007
South China Morning Post

Budget airline Oasis expects to be given government approval on Friday to start flights on the lucrative Hong Kong-Vancouver route.

Barring a last-minute objection, Oasis Hong Kong Airlines is confident it will be able to push ahead with plans to buy two more Boeing 747-400s to service the Canadian route.

The airline launched flights from Hong Kong to London's Gatwick Airport in October, with fares starting at HK$1,000 one way.

Oasis applied to the Air Transport Licensing Authority on February 2 for permission to fly to Vancouver. The two-week grace period for objectors will end on Friday.

The carrier's commercial director, Ken Chad, said there was nothing to indicate the application to fly to Canada would not be approved by the Economic Development and Labour Bureau.

Canadian aviation authorities were probably expected to take up to eight weeks to process Oasis' application once Hong Kong approval was granted.

"This is a route with an extremely high demand and we expect to enter with extremely competitive fares," Mr Chad said.

The Canadian consulate estimates there are at least 250,000 Canadian citizens in Hong Kong, many of whom obtained passports before the handover but have since returned to the city to live.

Two carriers fly directly between Vancouver and Hong Kong: Cathay Pacific and Air Canada.

Oasis also has plans to fly to Oakland, California, which services San Francisco, by June.

Then again, the CEO for Berlin Airports recently stated in a press conference that it is in talks with a new Asian low-cost longhaul carrier from Hongkong to fly Hongkong - Berlin direct. Oasis (as 'the' airline) was mentioned as well (albite by a different source). Now given that EasyJet has its 2nd biggest European base in Berlin (Schoenefeld Airport) this would make perfect sense now.

.... I was wondering why they would fly this route, but now that I hear they were/are in alliance talks with EasyJet, that makes more sense....

Anyway, any bets that Berlin will be one of Oasis' next destinations to be announced later in the year?? :)


^ Yes but soon they will be feeding several planes per day into different European airports - and they're 747-400s too - several times larger than each EasyJet A319. Even a fairly small percentage of transfer passengers from Oasis could add 10% to the load factor of several EasyJet flights. However EasyJet have already stated that they don't want to join an alliance with any longhaul partners. In my opinion they don't need to have a formal alliance or coodination. It's enough that Oasis feed into EasyJet's base at Gatwick which has now eclipsed Luton and Stansted as EasyJet's largest London base. Passengers will plan their own transfers.

Flat tyre takes the wind outof Oasis flight
8 April 2007
South China Morning Post

Almost 300 passengers on an Oasis flight to London were stranded on the tarmac for more than five hours yesterday because of a flat tyre - then learned the flight was postponed for 12 hours because the air crew had to be rested.

It was the third major flight interruption for the budget airline since it started operations in October.

The Oasis Hong Kong Airlines Boeing 747-400 flight was scheduled to depart for London's Gatwick Airport at 1.30am yesterday.

A Civil Aviation Department spokesman said the plane was ready to depart at 5am after a new tyre was fitted and safety checks were finished.

But by then the flight crew had to be rested, in line with international aviation rules, and the flight had to be rescheduled for late in the afternoon.

The plane finally took off at 5.39pm.

A spokesman for the airline said all passengers were provided with complimentary accommodation and meals at the Novotel Citygate hotel at Tung Chung.

Angry passengers complained about the lengthy delay.

One passenger, Ms Chan, said the airline failed to give any detailed explanation for the delay.

Another passenger, Mr Wen, said: "We felt all right at first, but as time passed some people started getting annoyed. They were worried they would miss their connecting flights in London."

The passengers also complained that they had to pay for food and drinks while sitting on the tarmac.

Raymond Ng To-wing, the airline's general manager of sales and marketing, Mr Ng and other airline officials went to the airport in the afternoon to explain the situation to passengers but they were quickly surrounded by angry passengers demanding compensation.

"I am also waiting for the report on why it took hours to fix a small technical problem," Mr Ng said.

The airline's inaugural flight last October was delayed for 24 hours because of delays in getting clearance from Russian authorities. Passengers on the flight were offered a free ticket with Oasis in the future and hotel accommodation or HK$500 in cash as compensation.

The airline ran into further problems in December when it faced a long delay in London, also because repairs were needed.

Legislator Howard Young, representing the tourism sector, said it was not unusual for new airlines to run into technical problems, but it was important to have enough planes to provide a good quality service.

"I think businessmen might not choose budget airlines as time is the most precious thing for them," he said.

Oasis has said it wants to raise about HK$10 billion in a share issue in 2009 to expand its fleet of seven planes.

Good news from Oasis. More aircrafts. Vancover is coming in June.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Oasis Hong Kong Airlines Grows Fleet to Five Aircraft
Strong momentum underway to open up more destinations with popular Vancouver being next

Hong Kong, March 6, 2007

Oasis Hong Kong Airlines has today finalised an agreement with ANA (All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd.) to purchase three additional Boeing 747-400s, as part of its planned fleet expansion in preparation for the launch of the airline’s new Vancouver route in the second half of 2007. This will bring the Oasis fleet to five aircraft.

Steve Miller, Chief Executive Officer of Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, said, “The purchase of three Boeing 747-400s marked another significant milestone in our history, getting closer to our goal of acquiring up to five aircraft a year and eventually expanding our fleet to 25 aircraft by 2010. ANA is an airline known for its excellence, efficiency, reliability and dedication to safety, the very qualities that are at the core of Oasis. These aircraft have been maintained in top quality condition. We look forward to the addition of these aircraft which will allow us to bring our passengers to many exciting destinations around the world in future. The expanded fleet will also greatly enhance our cargo capacity and therefore our airfreight income. Our momentum is strong and we’re on track to achieving our business goals.”

Peter Shannon, Director of Engineering of Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, added, “The three aircraft are amongst the youngest Boeing 747-400s in the world. They were all previously owned and maintained by ANA and are in perfect condition. Deliveries are scheduled to begin from April 2007 and run through to the first quarter of 2008. I am sure passengers will enjoy their flights on these reliable and comfortable aircraft.”

Oasis is also pleased to announce commencement of scheduled air services to Vancouver, subject to government approval on 28 June 2007. Vancouver is a popular destination to Hong Kong people, enjoying high demand year round due to a high population of Hong Kong immigrants. And to prepare for the launch of Oasis’ second destination, the airline is also hiring 200 more cockpit and cabin crew members, soon bringing its crew size to over 400.

Ken Chad, Commercial Director of Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, commented, “We are delighted to have the opportunity to fly to Vancouver. This is a very strong point to point market, one of the strongest out of Hong kong. It’s a market where there is substantially less reliance on feeder traffic. Consequently, it is currently our preferred next destination.”

About Oasis Hong Kong Airlines
Launched in Hong Kong on 26 October 2006, Oasis Hong Kong Airlines is pioneering a fresh approach to provide passengers the best choice for long point-to-point distance travel. The airline is committed to making long haul flights accessible to more people.

For more information and bookings visit the website www.oasishongkong.com

Budget carrier set for takeoff
Oasis Hong Kong Airlines plans to break into the lucrative Vancouver market in June
Vancouver Sun
30 April 2007

Oasis Hong Kong Airlines plans to break into the Vancouver market in June, bringing with it flights that are about 40-per-cent cheaper than the lowest advertised rates by the established master of the popular Vancouver-Hong Kong route, Cathay Pacific Airways.

Oasis is still waiting for final approval from Canadian authorities to operate, but next week executives from the carrier will arrive in Vancouver to make a formal announcement.

Vancouver offers a large source of travellers to Hong Kong. When Oasis launched its debut flight to London last October, it had initially pegged Oakland, Cologne/Bonn, Milan, Berlin and Chicago as next on its list. But, after some research, it has chosen Vancouver as a second flag route.

London is "cash-flow break even" for Oasis after only five months and it booked strong load factors of 82 per cent in April, according to co-founder Raymond C. Lee. However, he thinks that "the Hong Kong to Vancouver demand may even be higher than the Hong Kong to London one."

Return tickets to Vancouver are already for sale in Hong Kong at $3,980 HK, which is about $567 Cdn.

Compare that to the $1,426 Cdn that Cathay currently charges for a round trip during June.

There is interest in the team behind the young company, especially in the aftermath of Vancouver-based Harmony Airways, another airline backed by deep-pocketed, Hong Kong-born investors that has stopped service.

There are four main players at Oasis: a part-time pastor and property manager Raymond Lee and his wife Priscilla are the co-founders and have invested $100 million US between them. The Hong Kong chairman of consumer electronics company VTech Holdings, Allan Wong, is another investor, who brings some operational help in Vancouver via contacts at VTech's Canadian presence in Richmond. The chief executive officer, Stephen Miller, is a longtime aviation figure in Asia and Oasis is his second attempt to challenge Cathay.

"Okay, it's a fact. Oasis was started by a pastor, that's me," said Raymond Lee in a phone interview from Hong Kong. When the London flight was launched, one website headline declared, "Oasis Airlines: Thou Shalt Fly Cheaply."

"I don't blame people for being quite skeptical at first -- this pastor-businessman-lunatic with an ambitious dream," said Lee. "I was born into a wealthy business family in Hong Kong and I went into the ministry largely because I saw the greed, the infighting and the strained and broken relationships that money had caused many of my family members."

Lee was educated at Swarthmore College, Harvard University and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. His business operations are still largely tied to the U.S. east coast. Oasis Development Enterprises is headquartered in Hong Kong, but its 25 office properties valued in excess of $370 million US, according to the company website, are all based around Boston.

Lee doesn't have experience starting an airline, but Miller does. In 1985, Miller helped to launch Dragonair, with which Cathay had to start competing on service from Hong Kong to China. Five years later, Dragonair had lost a lot of money and Cathay bought it. There have been various shareholder changes over the years since then, but as of October 2006, Cathay wholly owned Dragonair.

"I am not saying he has a vendetta against Cathay Pacific Airways, but it's interesting. This is the second time he is taking on Cathay and is involved with a competing airline," said Singapore-based Nicholas Ionides, who has written extensively about Asian aviation since the early 1990s.

Lee describes the Oasis model as a hybrid. It will offer budget fares, but have a business-class section and serve hot meals and complimentary drinks. "When you think of a budget carrier, the first thing that comes to mind is 'What do you cut out? The left wing? The right wing?' " he said, joking. "But the beauty of the hybrid model is that you cut costs elsewhere. For example, by increasing aircraft utilization. We plan to fly the planes 16 or 17 hours a day," said Lee, explaining that at other airlines, the number is 12 to 14 hours a day.

Oasis aims to attract a new market of passengers who have been putting off visits to relatives and friends because of the cost. "And instead of one or two trips, people might make three or four," with the savings, said Ionides.

Oasis is really aimed more squarely at airlines like Emirates, Gulf Air and Finnair that fly from Hong Kong to London with one stop in between, rather than the more expensive, but direct bigwigs of the route, Cathay Pacific and British Airways. That will likely be the same in Vancouver, said Ionides.

Right now, multinational corporations are likely to stick with their Cathay accounts, but "a volleyball team from Croatia and managers of SMEs [small and medium enterprises] are going to Hong Kong and taking their entire families, too. They might opt to fly business class where they wouldn't have before," said Priscilla Lee in a phone interview from Hong Kong.

"It's too early to say if this will work or not, but they are definitely choosing the best destinations for their very limited fleet," said Richard Pinkham, a Singapore-based consultant with the Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation.

"Both London and Vancouver are big sources of Hong Kong-bound travellers. Most other destinations would have to rely on connecting traffic, which Oasis doesn't have, to fill their flights.

"I would imagine that a daily 747 flight will have some impact on Cathay's traffic and pricing, although it's tough to quantify at this stage. It's a good bet that they will lower their fares, but not match the competition across the board, especially in business class. If the fares are close, most travellers will probably stick with Cathay."

Ionides agreed: "There might be some switchover, but it's difficult to compete purely on price with an established player. Plus, Cathay has cargo revenue that helps to subsidize costs. There is good money to be made in cargo. Oasis will be trying to capture some of that market, but it will be much harder."

jlee-young@png.canwest.com

DOGFIGHT, HONG KONG STYLE

It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog, Mark Twain said. Oasis Hong Kong Airways had better hope that's true as it takes on much-larger Cathay Pacific on the lucrative Vancouver-Hong Kong route.

OASIS HONG KONG AIRLINES

1. Will start flying to Vancouver six times a week starting at the end of June.

2. Fleet size: Two Boeing 747-400s (plus three orders).

3. Destinations: Two in June, currently flies once daily to London.

4. Round trip Hong Kong-Vancouver ticket will cost HK$3,890, about $555 Cdn.

5. Parent company: Oasis Development Enterprises.

CATHAY PACIFIC AIRWAYS

1. Flies to Vancouver twice a day and will start flying three times a day this summer.

2. Fleet size: 100 planes (plus 33 orders).

3. Destinations: 56, including four daily flights to London (plus 48 others by codeshare).

4. Round trip Hong Kong-Vancouver ticket in June currently advertised as $1,426.

5. Parent company: Swire Group (Swire Pacific).

Hope Oasis will become a force to be reckoned with in order to further intensify HK's position as a global aviation hub.

haha
i've been telling my dad about this airline
and he doesnt beleive me
cuz he thinks im bull shitting
cuz first of all, i really awna go to HONGKONG this summer
so he thinks im just making this thing up~~
he was like "never heard of this airline!"
im like.. "cuz its new!"

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/asiaglobe/hongkong/IMG_3588.jpg

I was on the Kent coast on Saturday and an Oasis jumbo was circling round all day. It can't have bene in a holding pattern for Gatwick because it was too low and was circling for about two hours. It must have been some kind of trial for one of their new aircraft.

I was on the Kent coast on Saturday and an Oasis jumbo was circling round all day. It can't have bene in a holding pattern for Gatwick because it was too low and was circling for about two hours. It must have been some kind of trial for one of their new aircraft.

By the way, the Oasis 744 will be taking part in an airshow near Croydon on 2 June!

Check this out!

http://www.airdisplaysint.co.uk/display.php

Ask only

the Oasis will from HK to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur?? Have or Not??

Ask only

the Oasis will from HK to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur?? Have or Not??

Oasis is only flying to London now. Vancouver is the upcoming 2nd destination.

New Carrier Introduces Cheap Fares from Vancouver
12 May 2007
The Globe and Mail

Starting June 28, Canadian visitors to Hong Kong may have a little more money to spend during that city's famous summer sales.

Six-month-old Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, already flourishing in Britain, began selling tickets this week for its new trans-Pacific non-stop flights between Vancouver and Hong Kong. Its year-round one-way base fares – $299 for economy and $1,399 for business class – are almost 40 per cent less than the lowest prices of Cathay Pacific, the route's Goliath.

Oasis will offer six non-stop flights a week between Vancouver and Hong Kong on its small fleet of 747-400s.

Amenities will include a choice of Western or Asian hot meals, seat-back TVs and lounge access.

Hong Kong Tourism's Karisa Lui says the new airline provides “one more choice for travellers, and more capacity – an extra 2,154 seats weekly – for air travel to Hong Kong.”

More than 88,000 Canadians travelled to Hong Kong during the first three months of this year, a 10.3-per-cent increase over the same period in 2006. “That trend will continue steadily with Oasis Hong Kong's new service,” Lui says. “And, of course, it will bring more Hong Kong and Asian visitors to Canada.”

Until May 31, business-class passengers who book round-trip travel from June 28 to Oct. 27 will receive a free, transferable business-class ticket.

For information, go to www.oasishongkong.com or call 1-888-983-0808.

Oasis Hong Kong is not the only airline making Asia-Pacific travel more accessible to Canadians: Look for the launch of Air New Zealand's non-stop flights from Vancouver to Auckland beginning Nov. 2. For information, go to www.AirNewZealand.com or call 1-800-663-5494.

Julie Ovenell-Carter

I will be using them this Saturday.

Not that I care much about airline service:)

For a budget airline, PTVs and a hot meal are surprising services. :)

Oasis Looks at Wide-Body Twins as Next Step
Aviation Week & Space Technology 06/11/2007
Author: Bradley Perrett


Oasis Hong Kong Airlines Ltd. expects to order Boeing 777s or Airbus A350s as soon as next year for the second phase of its business strategy as a low-cost carrier that offers almost full cabin service on long-haul flights from China's richest city.

That second phase will see the Hong Kong airline moving into secondary markets. In the first stage, it is focusing on big, mature routes already served by long-established rivals.

Global carriers will closely watch the development of Oasis, since its model includes a moderately priced business class that would be a serious competitive threat if replicated elsewhere.

Just eight months after commencing operations, the carrier is facing an immediate challenge in finding used Boeing 747-400s to add to the five it has already secured. It aims to fly 25 of the type within five years.

Oasis's first two 747-400s are fitted with 81 business-class seats and 278 economy seats--a total of 359, which is hardly a dense arrangement. Only a few normal features of full service are not offered, such as a first class, a frequent-flier program and free drinks in economy.

It doesn't sound like a promising formula for low costs, but chief executive Stephen Miller says the privately owned company is already generating a positive cash flow and will be profitable by the first half of next year.

Importantly, Oasis isn't succeeding financially by avoiding heavily contested markets. On the contrary, it has jumped straight into a bear pit, launching its initial service in competition with the 10 daily flights that Cathay Pacific, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and others offer between Hong Kong and London.

"Phase one for us is the mature markets," says Miller. "Phase two is definitely going to be the secondary markets, for which we need different aircraft--777 or A350 type." Oasis will order 12 such aircraft in 2008 or 2009, he says. The 777 could be favored, since A350s wouldn't be available before 2013.

It is also clear that the airline will soon need to replace the secondhand 747-400s as a third step. Miller says Oasis will order those replacements in 3-5 years and is looking at 747-8s, A340s and 777s.

The new airline's flights were 83% full in April, Miller says. Patronage for its big business-class cabins has developed more slowly, with loads now around 60% but still trending higher.

Miller is a well-known figure in Hong Kong aviation, having been a founder of Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Ltd. in the mid-1980s.

When he first proposed Oasis to its owners, he had his eye on the economy-class market. He had noticed that 20% of passengers between Hong Kong and London were going through intermediate hubs. The fares were low, but high enough for profitable direct services with 747-400s, "as long as you kept a fairly good grip on costs," he says.

But what has since grabbed his attention is the potential for a moderately priced business class.

"We have found a whole new market: the independent businessman who pays his own fare, and the small-to-medium enterprise that watches its costs very closely," he says. Business seats on Oasis's London route are typically sold for $1,100 each way, which Miller says is 40-50% lower than the competition's advertised prices.

Those fares are also attracting up-market leisure travelers, he adds.

"We are not satisfied with the business-class loads, but we are satisfied with the model."

Established full-service airlines whose profits flow primarily from their premium cabins could be worried by that model. If Oasis flourishes, copycat investors could easily set up similar point-to-point carriers in other rich cities, just as Southwest Airlines look-alikes have sprung up around the world.

OASIS'S ECONOMY FARES are typically $250-300 each way.

Categorizing airlines is getting harder as the distinction blurs between budget and full-service network carriers. Oasis is probably best identified as a near-full-service airline with low costs, because its operations are nonetheless fairly simple.

Exploiting the range of the 747-400 is key. Miller also says that once the fleet has grown enough for efficient scheduling, the average aircraft will be flown 16-17 hr. a day.

Another major ingredient is outsourcing of services such as call centers and power-by-the-hour engine maintenance. Freight is wholly contracted out to Cargolux. "They take the belly space and send the check at the end of the each month," says Miller. "We spend no management time on cargo."

The third element is a startup's usual advantage in having no old, inefficient practices. For example, Oasis issues only e-tickets and has never paid for a paper setup. And most of those e-tickets are sold online, minimizing fees for travel agents.

Oasis's next challenge is to get the aircraft needed to expand the business. Trade in used 747-400s has been almost frozen over the past year or so.

Miller thinks the market is now loosening up again. "We have identified 12 747-400s available on the market next year," he says.

Nice photos from airliners.net

http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1235021/L/

http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1235020/L/

HONG KONG FARE WAR
1 August 2007
The Globe and Mail

The fare war on the Vancouver-Hong Kong route is heating up with newcomer Oasis Hong Kong Airlines reacting to Cathay Pacific's expansion of service to 17 flights a week. Oasis is now offering all seats on weekday flights departing Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from Vancouver to Hong Kong for $299 one-way for economy and $789 for business, excluding taxes. This offer is available to passengers who book by Aug. 15 and are travelling between Oct. 9 and Dec. 13.

In a separate deal, with the purchase of a return ticket from Vancouver to Hong Kong and a minimum one-night stay, passengers will receive a free return flight to Singapore with Oasis's partner carrier, Jet Star Asia. Return tickets are available from $599, plus taxes in economy and $1,599, plus taxes in business.

Tickets can be booked online at oasishongkong.com, through Oasis's customer service centre at 1-888-983-0808 and through travel agents.

Oasis to start three new Hong Kong to London flights

HONG KONG, Aug 16, 2007 (AFP) - Long-haul budget airline Oasis said Thursday it will add another three weekly flights on its Hong Kong to London route, as the company approaches its first birthday.

The new flights will fly Wednesday, Friday and Sunday from later this year, the company said in a statement.

It added customers who book a ticket on the new route before the end of Saturday could be in line for one of 3,000 free one-way tickets.

The offer applies to any return ticket booked for travel between December 16, 2007 and October 24, 2008, it said.

Oasis, which offers a one-way economy class ticket to London for as little as 1,000 Hong Kong dollars (128 US dollars), launched its first service to Gatwick Airport from Hong Kong at the end of October last year.

It now also operates a route between Hong Kong and Vancouver and plans to expand services to Europe, Australia and North America, the statement added.

http://www.oasishongkong.com/images/content/en_hk/promotion/20070816/visual_yvr2.jpg
http://www.oasishongkong.com/images/content/en_hk/promotion/20070816/SUB.gif

http://www.oasishongkong.com/images/content/en_hk/promotion/20070816/timetable.gif

http://www.oasishongkong.com/hk/en/promotion.aspx?id=20070817

Isn't Oasis Hong Kong the new "Dragonair" since Swire Group took over Dragonair?

^ As a local bogeyman for Cathay Pacific possibly. However they serve totally different markets. Dragonair was short-haul only wheras Oasis is long-haul only. Dragonair also had relatively little overlap with Cathay's route network because Cathay was not permitted to fly to the mainland Chinese destinations that made up the bulk of Dragonair's routes. By contrast Oasis is challenging Cathay on two (and soon more...) of its most profitable long-haul routes. Of course Oasis is at the other end of the market from Cathay but it does have both economy and business class products so they are competitors nonetheless.

http://www.oasishongkong.com/images/content/en_hk/promotion/20070816/visual_yvr2.jpg
http://www.oasishongkong.com/images/content/en_hk/promotion/20070816/SUB.gif

http://www.oasishongkong.com/images/content/en_hk/promotion/20070816/timetable.gif

http://www.oasishongkong.com/hk/en/promotion.aspx?id=20070817
I snapped up tickets for £226 return London to Hong Kong in January including all taxes and fees. Bargain!

After that I snapped up a return from Macau to Bangkok on AirAsia for £76. That means London to Thailand with stopovers in Hong Kong for just £303 return! :)

Thanks for telling us hkskyline. I wouldn't have known about this promotion otherwise. :)

^ As a local bogeyman for Cathay Pacific possibly. However they serve totally different markets. Dragonair was short-haul only wheras Oasis is long-haul only. Dragonair also had relatively little overlap with Cathay's route network because Cathay was not permitted to fly to the mainland Chinese destinations that made up the bulk of Dragonair's routes. By contrast Oasis is challenging Cathay on two (and soon more...) of its most profitable long-haul routes. Of course Oasis is at the other end of the market from Cathay but it does have both economy and business class products so they are competitors nonetheless.

Oasis and Cathay Pacific are two different airlines. They aren't related to each other and are direct competitor to each other.

On the other hands, Cathay and Dragonair are now related.

^ I am well aware of that and I think Anekdote is too. Anekdote is asking whether Oasis has replaced Dragonair as Cathay's main local rival. My response is explaining ways in which it is and ways in which it isn't. Please try to follow the discussion.

I don't think Oasis is interested in competing against cathay head-on as a business strategy. They seem to be interested in newer markets that are not being served by any airline at present, while sticking to the core routes as tested markets to drum up interest. Berlin is certainly an interesting one to await for, since neither Lufthansa nor Cathay go there, and from my understanding, Berlin seems to be underserved by international carriers who tend to use Frankfurt instead. Vancouver and the San Francisco area have a substantial Chinese population so the market does exist for a high frequency service from a few airlines.

^ But so far they have opened London and Vancouver which are two of Cathay's busiest long-haul routes.

^ But so far they have opened London and Vancouver which are two of Cathay's busiest long-haul routes.
They're also two solid routes where they can drum up passenger interest and build on that momentum when they fly to less common areas.

It's hard not to fly into a city where Cathay flies and that there is substantial traffic not served already, especially since CX is such a big airline.

I called the Oasis hotline a month or two ago, here in US. The staff there say the Oakland (San fran) service will start in like Oct. Maybe it was delayed to Nov? There should be annoucement by now if they are flying on Oct.

^ That would be really cool for me. My sister lives in San Francisco and I visit her every year or two. Of course low cost airlines don't penalise you for travelling one way so round the world trips would become very cheap. I could fly London to Hong Kong and then Hong Kong to San Francisco on Oasis. After that I could take a Southwest flight to New York and then home to London on Zoom. I could do it even faster using Vancouver as Zoom flies direct from Vancouver to London (ie London to Hong Kong and Hong Kong to Vancouver on Oasis and Vancouver to London on Zoom). However my sister doesn't live in Vancouver. ;) Circumnavigation using only low cost airlines - how cool! :)

are they only £260 in special offers? i just looked and the cheapest inc tax was about £360 or £330

^ I booked last week and got £226 return including taxes and fees - now that was a special offer! :)

To get the best regular fare you need to find the £75 hot deal fares each way (total = £150). After taxes and fees the total comes to ~£265. I have gotten that deal twice in the past. If you can't find this then try again in a couple of days. They have just finished their free flights giveaway on the London to Hong Kong sector and the minimum one way return fare was £109 rather than £75 - but try again now and you'll probably find £75 fares again - at least you will if you look well in advance.

^ That would be really cool for me. My sister lives in San Francisco and I visit her every year or two. Of course low cost airlines don't penalise you for travelling one way so round the world trips would become very cheap. I could fly London to Hong Kong and then Hong Kong to San Francisco on Oasis. After that I could take a Southwest flight to New York and then home to London on Zoom. I could do it even faster using Vancouver as Zoom flies direct from Vancouver to London (ie London to Hong Kong and Hong Kong to Vancouver on Oasis and Vancouver to London on Zoom). However my sister doesn't live in Vancouver. ;) Circumnavigation using only low cost airlines - how cool! :)

consider Virgin America for flights originating from San fran.

^ I'm sure Virgin are a nicer airline. I'm a big fan of the Virgin brand and style. However I always go for the lowest fare so Southwest would probaby win my ticket. I have flown Southwest from Chicago to San Francisco (Oakland) before and they were fine. :)

Oasis Airlines Asia deal
25 August 2007
Vancouver Sun

Travellers who purchase a round-trip fare to Hong Kong from Vancouver on Oasis Hong Kong Airlines now have the option of adding on a second leg to one of 11 Asian destinations, in China and Vietnam -- for free.

With the purchase of a return ticket from Vancouver to Hong Kong and a minimum one night's stay in Hong Kong, passengers will receive a free return economy flight to any one of 11 destinations in China and Vietnam with Oasis Airline's partner carrier Hong Kong Airlines. Tickets are available from $599 plus taxes in economy and $1599 plus taxes in business class.

To take advantage of this offer, tickets must be booked between Aug. 24 and Sept. 25, with travel permitted anytime between Aug. 25 and Dec.r 14. Booking is available through www.oasishongkong.com , customer services (1-888-983-0808) and travel agencies.

^^ OMG how low can they go, do Hong Kong Air fly to BKK? (please say yes! please say yes!) it will be good fly to Hong Kong for a week and then go to BKK for another week

^^ OMG how low can they go, do Hong Kong Air fly to BKK? (please say yes! please say yes!) it will be good fly to Hong Kong for a week and then go to BKK for another week

unfortunately, the answer is NO.

^^ OMG how low can they go, do Hong Kong Air fly to BKK? (please say yes! please say yes!) it will be good fly to Hong Kong for a week and then go to BKK for another week
I think one of these new carriers is starting a route soon - either HK Airlines or HK Express.

^^ OMG how low can they go, do Hong Kong Air fly to BKK? (please say yes! please say yes!) it will be good fly to Hong Kong for a week and then go to BKK for another week

or you can just pay a bit more to fly other low cost carriers either at HK airport, or through Macau airport.

Lol. I hope they serve Singapore soon.

Will this mean a closer tie-up between Oasis and HK Airlines? Since HK Airlines is owned by the HNA group, could consolidation be possible?

Lol. I hope they serve Singapore soon.

Will this mean a closer tie-up between Oasis and HK Airlines? Since HK Airlines is owned by the HNA group, could consolidation be possible?

Don't think that's on the plate yet. Oasis is working with a European low-cost carrier for a tie-up, probably Ryanair or easyJet.

I'm rather confused what would be the new lines for OasisHK. According to its website (http://www.oasishongkong.com/hk/en/aboutus/plans.aspx), it is planning to fly to the Europe Continent and the USA. But within the HK Gov't Gazette (http://www.gld.gov.hk/cgi-bin/gld/egazette/gazettefiles.cgi?lang=e&year=2007&month=8&day=24&vol=11&no=34&gn=5255&header=1&part=0&df=1&nt=gn&newfile=1&acurrentpage=12&agree=1&gaz_type=mg), there could have short-distance flights to SE Asia. Would OasisHK become the first Budget Airline in the world which serve Globally? :?

Oasis Hong Kong Airlines Awarded Best in Class at High Profile Industry Awards

Oasis Hong Kong Airlines further strengthened its position as a leading global airline as it took away not one but two prestigious awards at the 2007 World Low Cost Airline Congress Awards, held in London.

Awarded “Best New Service” and “Best Business Class Carrier”, Oasis beat Canada’s FlyZoom, U.S.A’s MAXjet and UK’s SilverJet amongst other airlines to take top spot.

Oasis currently flies from its hub in Hong Kong to London Gatwick daily and Vancouver six times per week.

Stephen Miller, Chief Executive Officer of Oasis said, “It is a tremendous honour to be recognized as a leading carrier less than one year since our launch. Both awards are
testament to our 500-strong team’s commitment to delivering a fantastic flight experience to every passenger.

“As we move into our second year of operations, we will make Oasis even better in every way – from enhanced in-flight comfort to expanded flight routes – but at the same
remarkable value.”

Oasis passengers can enjoy all the comfort and luxuries that a discerning traveller requires on long-haul flights including two complimentary meals, unlimited soft and hot
beverages, personal seat back, multi-channel TVs, luxury duty free shopping and spacious seats in both businessOasis and economyOasis.

Already? I thought it'd take at least a year for enough samples to be taken to even cover Oasis.

HK Gov't Gazette:
Oasis Application to US/Canadian Cities (http://www.gld.gov.hk/cgi-bin/gld/egazette/gazettefiles.cgi?lang=e&year=2007&month=9&day=21&vol=11&no=38&gn=6102&header=1&part=0&df=1&nt=gn&newfile=1&acurrentpage=12&agree=1&gaz_type=mg)

Licence granted for routes to London Gatwick and San Francisco (http://www.gld.gov.hk/cgi-bin/gld/egazette/gazettefiles.cgi?lang=e&year=2007&month=9&day=21&vol=11&no=38&gn=6103&header=1&part=0&df=1&nt=gn&newfile=1&acurrentpage=12&agree=1&gaz_type=mg)

Licence granted for routes to Sydney / Melbourne (http://www.gld.gov.hk/cgi-bin/gld/egazette/gazettefiles.cgi?lang=e&year=2007&month=9&day=21&vol=11&no=38&gn=6104&header=1&part=0&df=1&nt=gn&newfile=1&acurrentpage=12&agree=1&gaz_type=mg)

Licence granted for routes to US/Canadian Cities (http://www.gld.gov.hk/cgi-bin/gld/egazette/gazettefiles.cgi?lang=e&year=2007&month=9&day=28&vol=11&no=39&gn=6102&header=1&acurrentpage=12&df=1&nt=gn&agree=1&gaz_type=mg&part=1&newfile=1&pid=)

I just returned on Oasis from HK this morning. They offer a fantastic deal. That's the 2nd time I have used Oasis/HK as a gateway to E/SE Asia and I have already booked with them again for a trip to Thailand via HK in January. I am pleased that they have upped their London service frequency from daily to ten times per week. Perhaps they will go double daily soon?

pSKGngWxx3o

Yea!! I flying with them on Christmas back to Hong Kong, not a super good deal round trip total = USD 1,500 (about CAD1400) it is Second week of December from Austin to Dallas to Vancouver to HKG, back on the frist week of 2008.
btw. CX want 2,100 for the same date AUS - IAH - LAX - HKG

I just returned on Oasis from HK this morning. They offer a fantastic deal. That's the 2nd time I have used Oasis/HK as a gateway to E/SE Asia and I have already booked with them again for a trip to Thailand via HK in January. I am pleased that they have upped their London service frequency from daily to ten times per week. Perhaps they will go double daily soon?

Oh .. you missed the buy one leg get another free special!

Oh .. you missed the buy one leg get another free special!No I didn't. I booked with that deal for February. I got a free outbound leg and the minimum £109 return (they had removed all the cheaper return fares for the duration of the offer). That means the total fare including taxes and fees came to £226 return. Bargain!! :)

No I didn't. I booked with that deal for February. I got a free outbound leg and the minimum £109 return (they had removed all the cheaper return fares for the duration of the offer). That means the total fare including taxes and fees came to £226 return. Bargain!! :)

Great. I was drooling over that special. One of our UK-based HK forumers got a ticket on that special as well.

^ Actually I have to thank you for alerting me to it. :okay:

I did so in the Oasis thread in the UK forum but you obviously missed that:I snapped up tickets for £226 return London to Hong Kong in January including all taxes and fees. Bargain! :)

After that I snapped up a return from Macau to Bangkok on AirAsia for £76. That means London to Thailand with stopovers in Hong Kong for just £303 return! :)

Thanks for telling us hkskyline. I wouldn't have known about this promotion otherwise. :)

:) hahaha ... I thought I posted something about it before.

Too many things going on in my mind this week. I was actually in London last week and for a while today I thought I was still there.

Hong Kong budget carrier Oasis introduces new investor for expansion
4 October 2007

HONG KONG (AP) - Budget carrier Oasis Hong Kong Airlines Ltd. said Thursday fund management firm Value Partners Ltd. will invest US$30 million (€21 million) for a 5 to 10 percent stake in the startup airline.

The Hong Kong-based airline said it will use the funds to purchase aircraft and expand its route network.

Value Partners said the investment will be in the form of convertible bonds issued by Oasis.

"There is a conversion mechanism to calculate the exact stake being acquired, but the valuations haven't been finalized," said Victor Au, Value Partners' senior investment manager. The Hong Kong-based company had US$5.7 billion (€4.0 billion) under management as of June 30.

Oasis, which was launched in October 2006, is controlled by its founders, entrepreneur Raymond Lee and his wife, who hold a combined stake of over 50 percent. Other investors include the chairman of local electronics firm VTech Holdings Ltd., Allan Wong, who has a 20 percent stake.

Besides the planned Value Partners investment, existing shareholders in Oasis recently injected around US$20 million (€14 million) to boost the airline's funding, Lee said. Initial startup funding of Oasis was about US$100 million (€70 million).

Oasis, which offers flights to London and Vancouver at lower-than-average fares, operates a fleet of three secondhand Boeing 747-400 aircraft. Two more 747s will enter service in the coming months, the airline said.

Lee said the airline hopes to increase its fleet to 14 by 2011, a downward revision from the 25 planes it earlier said it expected by 2011.

Value Partners was set up in 1993 as an independent asset management firm. Apart from its core funds business, the company also operates a private equity unit for direct investments in unlisted companies.

HK Gov't Gazette:
License Granted to Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok, Singapore and Denpasar (http://www.gld.gov.hk/cgi-bin/gld/egazette/gazettefiles.cgi?lang=e&year=2007&month=10&day=18&vol=11&no=42&gn=6731&header=1&part=0&df=1&nt=gn&newfile=1&acurrentpage=12&agree=1&gaz_type=mg)

^ It's interesting that they applied for those SE Asian destinations despite having made no mention of serving shorthaul routes in their published plans. Is it a change of strategy? Or is it a way around some legal difficulty - and they will change their destinations once they have been awarded the slots?? :dunno:

Promotions from the Oasis Hong Kong's Website:

Vancouver: Free Trip for Kids to Vancouver (http://oasishongkong.com/hk/en/promotion.aspx?id=20071018)

^ It's interesting that they applied for those SE Asian destinations despite having made no mention of serving shorthaul routes in their published plans. Is it a change of strategy? Or is it a way around some legal difficulty - and they will change their destinations once they have been awarded the slots?? :dunno:

Wonder if they're trying to squeeze in a short-haul destination to utilize the planes while they wait between long-haul runs. But then, a trip to SE Asia takes 3.5 hours, so it's easily a day turnaround. Probably not a very good use of existing aircraft until they get more deliveries.

Discount airlines in for long haul
New York Times
20 October 2007

Until the start of Oasis Hong Kong airlines last year, Mark Exton was spending far longer than he desired flying between London and Hong Kong. As technical director of an automotive recycling technology company in Britain, he regularly travelled between the cities to check on his Chinese suppliers just outside Hong Kong. With business-class seats on nonstops from British Airways and Cathay Pacific often priced up to $8,000 round trip, Exton typically flew cheaper alternatives that saved money but required layovers and plane switches.

That changed when he discovered Oasis Hong Kong. Employing three 747s, Oasis flies nonstop daily between Hong Kong and London's Gatwick Airport, offering one-way coach and business-class seats beginning at 109 pounds and 470 pounds, respectively (about $218 and $940 Canadian).

"They're half the price of BA or Cathay, but with nearly the same levels of comfort and services," said Exton, who has flown Oasis's business class about a dozen times since January. "And because there's no transfer involved, you get on the plane, get some sleep and arrive ready for work."

With its discount fare structure and long-range flights, Oasis Hong Kong is a pioneer in low-cost long-haul air travel. Rolled out as independent startups or as arms of established carriers, these airlines are promising direct links to far-flung locations at far lower prices than the traditional carriers offer.

"We saw that 20 per cent of the Hong Kong-to-London market was travelling via hubs to save money," said Stephen Miller, chief executive of Oasis, which added Hong Kong-to-Vancouver flights in June. "So we were confident there was a market for this type of new airline."

Miller is not the only airline executive and Oasis is not the only airline bullish on the low-cost long-haul sector. Since June, Ottawa-based Zoom Airlines has offered discount flights between New York and Gatwick as well as between Canadian cities and several British cities and Paris. And newcomer Virgin America, partly owned by the Virgin Group, began service between the west and east coasts of the United States in August.

The new carriers are clearly taking cues from their short-haul counterparts. Tickets, for instance, may usually be bought per segment without a required length of stay. On Zoom one-way tickets begin at $199 between New York and London, while transcontinental flights on Virgin America begin at $129 each way.

And long-haul fleets typically have only a few airplane models. This allows the long-haul discounters to streamline training and hold down operational costs.

Low-cost long-haul operators also try to keep planes in the air longer than do full-fare carriers, "up to 17 or 18 hours a day," envisions Azran Osman-Rani, the chief executive of AirAsia X, a long-haul spinoff of Malaysia-based Air Asia, "as opposed to 11 or 12 for other airlines."

And like short-haul airlines, many of the new carriers use secondary airports at major destinations - Zoom and Oasis Hong Kong at Gatwick, for instance. With lower landing fees, these airports reduce costs, creating savings (theoretically) passed on to the consumer. Far less congested, the secondary airports "will also help us maintain more flexibility and far quicker turnaround time," Osman-Rani said.

Short-haul operators focus on discounting to lure and retain passengers, but long-haul requires additional comfort and service to keep passengers happy. Nearly all the new long-haul airlines offer a discounted economy class as well as a higher-priced business class that is still cheaper than their full-service competitors'.

"Our research shows that nearly 30 per cent of travellers are quality-focused," said Henry Harteveldt, a travel analyst with Forrester Research. "They're willing to pay affordably higher prices for better products."

Oasis Hong Kong's business class and Zoom's premium economy class include separate check-ins and bigger seating. Oasis also has higher-end cuisine and enhanced in-flight entertainment systems, and Zoom offers priority baggage handling, an extra baggage allowance and bar service.

Still, Harteveldt said, the new carriers will consistently have to provide a "better than expected" experience. "Consumers will try anything once," he said. "But the airlines must really do their homework to get people onboard a second time."

Budget carrier Oasis boasts 350,000 passengers in 1st year, shakes up Hong Kong market
By CASSIE BIGGS
Associated Press Writer AP - Saturday, October 27

HONG KONG - Budget long-haul carrier Oasis Hong Kong Airlines said Friday it carried 350,000 passengers over its first year, disproving critics who predicted the airline would never get off the ground.

It almost didn't. The inaugural flight to London was delayed by seven hours while passengers remained on the plane because it wasn't cleared to fly over Russian airspace.

That flight was rescheduled, but Oasis went on to attract passengers with its cut-rate tickets and other promotions, including free flights for children accompanying their parents, big discounts for people over 55, and free business upgrades for teachers.

Oasis, with its fleet of five Boeing 747-400s, flies daily to London and in June it added flights to Vancouver six days a week.

The budget airline has shaken up the Hong Kong aviation market, prompting traditional carriers to cut their fares. Cathay Pacific, for example, has slashed its prices to London and Vancouver by nearly half.

Critics had questioned whether the cut-price model so successful in the short-haul market could transfer to the long-haul sector, and also in Hong Kong where high airport landing fees have deterred budget carriers in the past.

To mark the airline's one-year anniversary, Chairman and co-founder Raymond Lee told reporters Friday that Oasis would offer one-way economy class tickets to London or Vancouver for HK$1,380 (US$176) excluding tax. The flights can only be taken on Tuesdays up until Dec. 4.

Lee said the airline would add two new destinations soon.

"These (discounts) are not just promotions, they are actually an expression of our mission; of our corporate culture ... to provide travel opportunities to those other airlines have written off," Lee, who is also a Christian pastor, said in explaining the company's business model of "doing well by doing good."

His wife, Executive Director Priscilla Lee, said the airline had carried 350,000 people over the last year and that they were on track to realize their "mission" of improving Hong Kong's economy and society.

Some 34 percent of passengers were repeat customers with one person traveling 30 times in the last year, she said.

The Lees _ successful property developers and active philanthropists _ set up the airline with a US$100 million investment last October. They have a 50 percent controlling stake. Other investors include the chairman of local electronics firm VTech Holdings Ltd., Allan Wong, who has a 20 percent stake, and fund management firm Value Partners Ltd. with a 5 percent stake.

The airline has not revealed earnings for the last year. In March, the company said it had achieved a cash-flow break even on its Hong Kong to London route, but gave no further details.

Travel Agents Worldwide Rank Oasis Hong Kong Airlines Number One in Annual World Travel Awards
Corporate Press Release

HONG KONG (November 7, 2007)

Over 160,000 travel professionals around the world have voted Oasis Hong Kong Airlines (Oasis) ‘Asia’s Leading Budget Airline’.

Announced on Friday at the 14th Annual World Travel Awards in Bangalore, India, the decision was reached by a total of 167,000 travel professionals worldwide, including more than 110,000 travel agents, after an online voting campaign spanning months.

Hailed by the Wall Street Journal as the “travel industry’s equivalent to the Oscars”, the World Travel Awards is the most comprehensive and prestigious awards program in the global travel industry today, rewarding and celebrating the enormous achievements made across all sectors.

Oasis beat fellow Asian airlines including Air Asia, Jetstar Asia, Nok Air and Tiger Airways to take the top accolade.

This announcement comes less than a week after Oasis was awarded the prestigious ‘New Airline of the Year’ title at the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) Awards, in Singapore: acknowledging the airline for its contribution to the low fare, long-haul model, and in particular to the rapidly evolving aviation scene in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

In September the airline was recognised as the ‘Best New Service’ and ‘Best Business Class Carrier’ at the 2007 World Low Cost Airline Congress Awards, held in London.

This recent haul of awards proves Oasis is truly world-class and a dynamic value-focussed airline dedicated to providing high-quality, non-stop, long-haul travel from Hong Kong to London and Vancouver, at year round great fares.

Oasis passengers can enjoy all the comfort and luxuries that a discerning traveller requires on long-haul flights including two complimentary meals, unlimited soft and hot beverages, personal seat back, multi-channel TVs, luxury duty free shopping and spacious seats in both businessOasis and economyOasis.

About Oasis Hong Kong Airlines
Launched in Hong Kong on 26 October 2006, Oasis Hong Kong Airlines is pioneering a fresh approach to provide passengers the best choice in value focused, long distance travel. The airline is committed to making long haul flights accessible to more people. Oasis also aims to offer special promotional deals in its bid to take the seven million people of Hong Kong to the world, and bring the world to Hong Kong, China.

The airline has sold over 337,000 tickets since its launch and has carried to 225,000 passengers to date. By the end of 2007, Oasis will have over 600 employees.

Oasis buoyed by £15m stake
2 November 2007
Travel Trade Gazette UK

Oasis Hong Kong Airlines `close to break-even' on London route a year after launch. By Gary Noakes

It is easy to become labelled with the wrong image when you are one of the world's first budget long-haul airlines, Oasis Hong Kong Airlines' boss admits.

"People started to think we were 12 hours of Ryanair," said chief executive Steve Miller. "We had passengers boarding with sandwiches and cans of beer thinking they weren't going to be fed."

A year into the venture, Miller is at pains to point out that two hot meals and 16 free entertainment channels are there to give passengers more than the basic low-cost service on their Gatwick flight to Hong Kong.

The carrier, founded by Hong Kong property magnate Raymond Lee, had the worst of all possible starts, when its inaugural flight was cancelled in a row with Russia over air traffic rights.

Miller, though, stresses that Oasis soon put that behind it. The airline, which began operations with four flights a week from Hong Kong to Gatwick, will operate 10 times a week from December 16 and has also attracted new investors. "We are getting close to break-even on London," he added.

Oasis offers a budget economy and business-class service using ex-

Singapore AirlinesBoeing 747s. Its lead-in fare is around £316 return year-round - roughly £60 less than competitors' tactical offers.

Expansion on the Gatwick route comes as a new tranche of investment has been secured. Hong Kong private equity firm Value Partners has injected £15m into the carrier, valuing the airline at between £150m and £200m. "This can bring us additional routes and aircraft and that is what is going to happen," said Miller. "Next year there will be at least three new destinations."

As well as Gatwick, Oasis also flies Hong Kong-Vancouver six times a week. Expansion on the Gatwick route starts next month when a fourth aircraft is delivered from All Nippon Airlines.

Hong Kong-San Francisco has been pencilled in for when a fifth ex-ANA 747 arrives at the end of May.

After its US expansion and a move into Germany, the next route is likely to be Hong Kong-Sydney-Melbourne, which will provide a budget competitor on the "Kangaroo Route" from the UK.

"Once we start that, there will be considerable amounts of through- traffic," said Miller.

Expansion of its Gatwick-Hong Kong service to double-daily next spring is also on the cards.

The Value Partners' cash will put Oasis in the running for more 747s next year. "There are three more ex- Singapore Airlines aircraft coming on to the market next year which we are bidding on - we should be up to a fleet of eight by the end of 2008," Miller said.

Oasis fits its aircraft with 278 economy seats and 81 business seats. Economy has a 32-inch seat pitch, the same as established carriers. Business cabins have a 60-inch pitch with older-style cradle seats. Premium return fares from London are from £1,258. Like all long-haul airlines, Oasis needs fares like these to subsidise the cheap seats at the back, but banking on premium sales for an unknown airline was a gamble.

"Our business loads are in the 70s from Gatwick," said Miller. "The fare is 50% less than established carriers and we are getting huge numbers of people working for small and medium enterprises travelling with us."

Miller claims the airline is recording economy load factors of 95%- plus, with 63% of sales originating in the UK.

"We have built a lot of repeat traffic; some people have travelled with us more than 20 times," he said.

"There is scope to drive yields up, but we will always be the most competitive on the route."

Surprisingly for a long-haul carrier, 60% of sales are via the internet. Another 19% go direct via a call centre and 21% through agents.

Now that the airline is established, Miller expects more agents to be attracted by its 9% commission rate.

Oasis started its UK route at the same time as Air New Zealand began Heathrow-Hong Kong. Miller said the market from the UK to Hong Kong had grown by 18% since then. "It's not totally due to us, but we have brought a lot of first-time visitors to Asia.

"Some people are coming over to us from BA and Cathay, but not to the extent that it is hurting them and that's good - we set out to carve our own niche, not steal someone else's lunch."

HK Gov't Gazette:
License Granted for Oasis Freights to and from HK to Las Vegas, NY, LA, SF, Vancouver, Boston, Toronto or Honolulu (http://www.gld.gov.hk/cgi-bin/gld/egazette/gazettefiles.cgi?lang=e&year=2007&month=11&day=30&vol=11&no=48&gn=7692&header=1&part=0&df=1&nt=gn&newfile=1&acurrentpage=12&agree=1&gaz_type=mg)

So Oasis is granted the license to fly between HK and the following 16 cities today:
Las Vegas
New York
Los Angeles
San Francisco
Vancouver
Boston
Toronto
Honolulu
Singapore
Bangkok
Denpasar
Ho Chi Ming
Sydney
Melbourne
London Gatwick
Manchester

But only two are served (in bold) with the three planes Oasis has right now.
Anyone has any idea when will Oasis receive more planes?

Will ALL of those granted destinations be actually served by Oasis someday?

Is Oasis actually looking for eventual replacement aircraft like the A350/A380/B748i/B787 for its B744?

Will ALL of those granted destinations be actually served by Oasis someday?

The company foreseen plan, according to the official webpage, is still in the long haul market including Berlin, Cologne/Bonn and Milan in Europe; San Francisco and Chicago in NA; Melbourne and Sydney in Australia. So, to have services in all the licensed cities is definitely a long way to go. It will be years from now.

Is Oasis actually looking for eventual replacement aircraft like the A350/A380/B748i/B787 for its B744?
No. The three planes Oasis operating now are fairly new although they were pre-owned by Singapore Airline. The other coming aircrafts will also be pre-owned by ANA. Buying pre-owned, but well maintained, aircrafts can help the airline to keep the running cost low and maintain the low fare.

HK Gov't Gazette:
Oasis Application to Operate Routes to cities in Asia and Europe (http://www.gld.gov.hk/cgi-bin/gld/egazette/gazettefiles.cgi?lang=e&year=2007&month=12&day=7&vol=11&no=49&gn=7942&header=1&part=0&df=1&nt=gn&newfile=1&acurrentpage=12&agree=1&gaz_type=mg)

--Too many cities, better read the document. :tongue3:

Is it me or some of the cities are cargo- potential cities. As in, they'd be more likely given a cargo service rather than passenger service.

I don't see Baku and Luxembourg being bringing high passenger traffic for Oasis.

Don't think Oasis is going into the all-cargo business, but then it looks like they're trying to apply for a lot more locations than what their fleet can support for now.

When Oasis comes to Australia I can assure that it will be very popular with immigrants from the Former Yugoslavia because we're all cheapskates and want the cheapest flight possible. We currently pay around 2000 AUD return just to get to Belgrade on Malaysia Airlines and its the same for other airlines (Thai is slightly cheaper whereas Emirates is slightly more costly).

:D

Oasis HK 747s have been spending alot of time in Glasgow recently.

Oasis' fourth plane takes to the skies
11 December 2007
M2 Presswire

London - This weekend marked the inaugural flight of Oasis Hong Kong Airlines' fourth plane as it took off on the Hong Kong - London Gatwick route on Saturday.

The delivery of the new Boeing 747-400, previously owned and maintained by ANA, brings the fleet to four, with another plane due for delivery in early 2008. The arrival of this plane also sees flights on the London-Hong Kong route increasing to 10 a week from 16th December 2007.

Steve Miller, Chief Executive Officer of Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, comments: "The arrival of our fourth plane marks another milestone in our history, getting closer to our goal of eventually expanding our fleet to ten aircraft by the end of 2008. ANA is an airline known for its reliability and dedication to safety, the very qualities that are at the core of Oasis. We look forward to the addition of these aircraft which will allow us to fly our passengers to many exciting destinations around the world in future."

Wonder will Oasis increase frequency on existing routes to Gatwick and Vancouver or will the airline begin service new destination with the new planes arriving next year.

Wonder will Oasis increase frequency on existing routes to Gatwick and Vancouver or will the airline begin service new destination with the new planes arriving next year.
I doubt they'll increase frequencies to London or Vancouver. Those markets are well served already especially with CX announcing further capacity to Vancouver. I suspect they may start Australia to entice kangaroo route passengers.

The World's Leading New Airline is ... Oasis Hong Kong Airlines!
Hong Kong, December 13, 2007
Press Release

Oasis Hong Kong Airlines (Oasis) has topped off its award-winning year with the highest accolade of all: last night being announced the ‘World’s Leading New Airline’ at the World Travel Awards.

Held at the Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort & Spa in the Caribbean, the invite-only, gala ceremony, awarded the global winners of the 14th World Travel Awards, voted for by a total of 167,000 travel professionals worldwide, including more than 110,000 travel agents, in an online voting campaign spanning months.

Hailed by the Wall Street Journal as the “travel industry’s equivalent to the Oscars”, the World Travel Awards has been hosting a series of regional award ceremonies around the globe, at which Oasis won ‘Asia’s Leading Budget Airline’ in the Asia category, announced in Bangalore, India, in November.

The World Travel Awards is the most comprehensive and prestigious awards program in the global travel industry today, rewarding and celebrating the enormous achievements made across all sectors.

To win ‘World’s Leading New Airline’, Oasis beat other new airlines AirAsia X, Silverjet, Virgin America and VivaAerobus.

Accepting the award on behalf of Oasis was the company’s Vice President, North America, Fritz Blayney.

“To say this award is an honour, is an understatement,” said Mr Blayney.

“We are surrounded by the world’s tourism heavy-weights here tonight, and Oasis has been voted by industry professionals no less, the best of the best.

“This is indeed another feather in Oasis’ cap, and tops off a year-long run of prestigious accolades.

“I know everyone in Oasis’ North American operations is proud to represent Oasis and Hong Kong in this part of the world, and never more so than tonight.”

Oasis was also voted ‘New Airline of the Year’ in November, at the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation Awards (CAPA) held in Singapore.

CAPA is the region’s leading provider of independent aviation market intelligence and analysis.

In an announcement released by CAPA, the award acknowledged Oasis for its extensive contribution to the low fare, long-haul model, and in particular to the rapidly evolving aviation scene in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

In September the airline was recognised as the ‘Best New Service’ and ‘Best Business Class Carrier’ at the 2007 World Low Cost Airline Congress Awards, held in London.

This most recent award, ‘World’s Leading New Airline’, shows Oasis’ dedication to providing high-quality, non-stop, long-haul travel at year round great fares, without ever comprising on style, safety or service, has earned the airline its place at the forethought of consumers and travel industry professionals alike.

Oasis passengers can enjoy all the comfort and luxuries that a discerning traveller requires on long-haul flights including two complimentary meals, unlimited soft and hot beverages, personal seat back, multi-channel TVs, luxury duty free shopping and spacious seats in both businessOasis and economyOasis.

I can't wait till they start service to NY. :D

Budget airline fit for a princess
22 January 2008
South China Morning Post

The phrases "fit for a king" and "budget airline" may seem incongruous partners, but Hong Kong's budget airline, Oasis, wants it known they are fit for a princess. The carrier flew Princess Birgitta of Sweden from London to Hong Kong late last week.

The sister of King Carl was the airline's first royal passenger. Her Royal Highness and her Nordic delegation are here for a week-long series of trade meetings and events, including talks with some local business VIPs. Also on her schedule was a gala dinner hosted by the Swedish consul general in her honour.

It's something of an annual duty for the princess to drop by the city and promote Swedish interests, and this is her fifth trip to Hong Kong.

Of course, it also gives her an excuse to indulge her passion for golf. The Princess of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen is spending two days hitting the links at Shenzhen's Mission Hills Golf Club before she departs tomorrow.

We're assuming Oasis didn't ask her to pay for the peanuts, soft drinks, extra pillow and headphones during her flight.

HK Gov't Gazette:
Oasis Granted for Operate Routes to cities in Asia and Europe (http://www.gld.gov.hk/cgi-bin/gld/egazette/gazettefiles.cgi?lang=e&year=2008&month=2&day=15&vol=12&no=07&gn=945&header=1&part=0&df=1&nt=gn&newfile=1&acurrentpage=12&agree=1&gaz_type=mg)

-- Too many cities, please read the document. :tongue3:

Budget airline on hunt for cash to secure market share
6 March 2008
South China Morning Post

Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, an ambitious low-fare long-haul operator, is seeking additional financing just four months after a local fund management house invested US$30 million for a stake.

"We are talking with potential investors at this moment about a shareholding," chief executive Stephen Miller said. "I can't tell you anything more now but it's all positive news." Details would be announced shortly, he said.

Mr Miller founded Dragonair, which is now part of Cathay Pacific Airways.

The news came as Cathay Pacific reported an increase of 71 per cent in its net profit last year to HK$7 billion, thanks to strong passenger demand, a weak US dollar and gains from contracts to buy oil at below spot market prices.

Rapid expansion in the initial phase is key to a growing business, especially in the highly competitive airline industry.

Although Oasis targets the long-haul market, other carriers are increasingly crowding the skies, including freighter airline Air Hongkong and budget carriers Hong Kong Airlines and Hong Kong Express.

Profit margins, which are already low for budget carriers, are often sacrificed initially to build up important market share and generate customers through attractive pricing. Fares are then increased as soon as possible to boost profits.

Oasis launched its services in late 2006, offering one-way business class tickets to London at HK$6,600 before taxes, about one-third of the price charged by Cathay Pacific.

The low-fare carrier also said it would sell 10 per cent of one-way economy class seats for HK$1,000 before taxes in the first year.

Oasis, which now offers one-way business class seats for as little as HK$9,600 to London and HK$8,000 to Vancouver, has largely relied on pricing to win a slice of the valuable market.

Over longer distances, selling a high proportion of seats is critical. However, soaring fuel prices are having a major impact on the aviation industry. Fuel, which is one of the biggest overheads for airlines, has taken a big bite out of profits.

In October last year, Value Partners agreed to pay US$30 million for a stake of between 5 per cent and 10 per cent in Oasis to help fund its fleet expansion plans. The carrier's existing shareholders also poured in HK$200 million.

Raymond Lee Cho-min, chairman of the airline, holds less than 60 per cent while Allan Wong Chi-yun, chairman of VTech Holdings, controls about 20 per cent. The HK$434 million of fresh capital will help the airline expand its fleet to 14 Boeing 747s serving eight routes by 2011.

Oasis now operates non-stop services between Hong Kong and London and Vancouver, and is expected to add more routes to Europe and North America. The airline already has licences from the government to fly to San Francisco, Cologne, Melbourne, Sydney, Milan and Berlin.

Value Partners : No Major Impact From Oasis HK Airlines Closure
9 April 2008

HONG KONG (Dow Jones)--Value Partners Group Ltd. (0806.HK) said Wednesday the liquidation of Oasis Hong Kong Airlines Ltd. won't have any major impact on the Hong Kong-listed company, which in October invested US$30 million in the unsuccessful budget carrier.

The fund management firm, which listed in November, said it isn't a shareholder in the airline, because its investment in Oasis Hong Kong was in the form of a convertible bond.

"The nonperformance of the investment in Oasis Hong Kong Airline will not cause any significant impact on the group's business," Value Partners said in a statement.

Value Partners said the amount it invested in Oasis is less than 0.5% of the company's total assets under management, which totaled about US$6.5 billion at the end of February.

"As an asset manager, Value Partners has investments in over one hundred companies at any one time. The nonperformance of a single investment is outweighed by the success of most of the other investments."


By CXtristar from HKADB :

http://ihome.coms.hkbu.edu.hk/~03khng/adb/b-lfa_800.jpg

It's a real shame they failed. :(

Hong Kong airline goes bankrupt
By Keith Bradsher Published: April 9, 2008

HONG KONG: Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, a long-haul budget carrier that tried to offer premium service and spacious seats at low prices, suddenly went into liquidation Wednesday and canceled all flights, the fourth budget carrier to halt operations in the past week and a half.

The bankruptcy filing by Oasis stranded thousands of passengers in Hong Kong, London and Vancouver. Many of the would-be passengers stuck in Hong Kong are children trying to return to British boarding schools after going home for the spring break.

High jet fuel prices have taken a heavy toll on the airline industry and particularly on low-margin budget carriers trying to compete on price. The other three to shut down since March 31, all in the United States, are Aloha Airgroup, ATA Airlines and Skybus Airlines.

The spate of bankruptcies threatens to undermine travelers' confidence in budget carriers. But airline industry experts say that Oasis's business model of punctual, top-notch service and lots of legroom at discount prices made it especially vulnerable to high oil prices.

For other budget carriers, the lesson of Oasis's demise is that, "they have to pack more seats and more passengers into their aircraft," said Derek Sadubin, the chief operating officer of the Center for Asia Pacific Aviation, a consulting company in Sydney.

While established airlines are also feeling the brunt of high fuel prices, budget carrier start-ups have proved more vulnerable because they must struggle during the current international credit crunch to borrow money to cover any operating losses.

The shutdown of Oasis "does remind us that it is an extremely precarious business when there are so many external factors outside the control of airline management, one being jet fuel prices and another being the credit crunch," said Martin Craigs, the president of the Aerospace Forum Asia, a Hong Kong-based trade association representing aviation equipment suppliers, including Airbus and Boeing.

Yet another problem for start-ups like Oasis is that the cost of leasing or buying planes has stayed very high even as economic weakness in the United States and elsewhere has started to hurt demand for air travel. Asian and Mideast carriers are actively expanding and ordering hundreds of planes, leaving Boeing and Airbus with long backlogs of orders.

Stephen Miller, the chief executive of Oasis, said at a brief news conference Wednesday that the carrier still hoped to find an investor to buy its operations. But Eva Cheng, the Hong Kong secretary for transport and housing, said that the company had made a voluntary filing for liquidation Wednesday only after lengthy negotiations with a possible investor broke down Tuesday.

Cheng said that the cessation of service by Oasis was particularly troubling because it came at a time when many flights on other carriers are already fully booked - including for children, some traveling without adults, who are trying to return to school in Britain.

Cheng urged other carriers to give priority on nonstop flights to children holding Oasis tickets. An estimated 40,000 young people from Hong Kong, a former British colony, attend schools in Britain, the bulk of them in elementary schools, junior high and high school, but some in university as well.

Virtually all civil servants in Hong Kong, regardless of national heritage, are still eligible for a taxable government allowance that covers more than half the cost of sending children to boarding school in Britain.

Cathay Pacific Airways, the dominant airline in Hong Kong with at least a third of the market, announced Wednesday that it would add an extra flight to London on Friday and another Sunday with priority for schoolchildren. The airline also said that holders of tickets for Oasis flights in the next two weeks would be eligible to buy one-way economy class tickets from Hong Kong to London or Vancouver - the two routes formerly operated by Oasis - for 2,500 Hong Kong dollars, or $320.

Raymond and Priscilla Lee, a wealthy Hong Kong real estate couple also active in philanthropic causes, started Oasis in October, 2006. The private equity arm of Value Partners Group, a large Hong Kong asset management company with $6 billion under management, bought $30 million in convertible bonds from Oasis to help finance its growth.

Cheah Cheng Hye, the chairman and chief investment officer of Value Partners, said Wednesday that the company had several layers of guarantees on the bonds and had a "very reasonable chance" of recovering its money, and that the company's well known funds would not be affected because they did not hold stakes in the private equity unit.

Value Partners' risk from the Oasis investment is insignificant to the overall company because its investments are diverse, Cheah added in an interview, explaining that, "it's like running a hotel with 100 or 200 rooms - sometimes a guest will check out without paying the bill."

The High Court in Hong Kong appointed KPMG as the provisional liquidators of Oasis. The airline's ticket holders will be among its creditors.

Oasis had superb on-time performance - it boasted that every flight to and from London was on time in February. It also offered more legroom in economy and business class than other budget carriers and even some premium carriers.

In business class, Oasis put up to 60 inches, or 150 centimeters, between each seatback, compared with 38 inches on some budget carriers, and in economy class it put 32 inches, compared with 31 inches on many carriers.

Oasis operated roomy four Boeing 747-400s with twin aisles on its nearly 13-hour flights from Hong Kong to London and Vancouver. But the planes also have four engines, which gulped fuel at a time when crude oil is over $100 a barrel.

Oasis was an unusual hybrid of the new all-business class airlines now appearing over the Atlantic and the very inexpensive economy class carriers now spreading around the world. Oasis allocated 22 percent of its seats to business class and charged as little as a third of Cathay's prices, seeking a niche among travelers who dread very long flights in economy class but have been reluctant to pay $6,300 for a round-trip in business class.

But many corporations have contracts with Cathay for their employees, while expense-account travelers have tended to prefer Cathay for its frequent flyer plan, Sadubin said. On an Oasis flight from London to Hong Kong last Friday, economy class was full but there were just two passengers in one of the aircraft's three sections of business class.

It's a real shame they failed. :(

^^ Yeah. Oasis Hong Kong's lifespan as a company was so short. :(

And, I loved their livery (way better than Cathay Pacific's).

Well, I guess their business model was, simply, too good to last.

I did enjoy it once....thank you Oasis!

Reading the last page and then this one is quite sad

^^ Yeah. Oasis Hong Kong's lifespan as a company was so short. :(

And, I loved their livery (way better than Cathay Pacific's).

Well, I guess their business model was, simply, too good to last.

I thought Cathay Pacific looked better. Oasis did have a good livery for a budget airline though.

The Oasis livery was nice. Their service was also great for the price. This airline was apparently killed by a combination of too much debt and high fuel prices. Perhaps their strategy was also wrong. Far fewer of the usual cost low cost savings can be applied to longhaul. Anyway it's a shame they're going and I will miss them. Still at least I got my money's worth out of them: 2 x £265 returns and 1 x £225 return. :)

Virgin will hopefully add an extra daily to Hong Kong to pick up the slack. They had intended to open a second daily to Hong Kong in 2006 but later decided against that because of Oasis's entry on the route.

Collapse lands bitter blow
Hong Kong Standard
Thursday, April 10, 2008

http://orientaldaily.on.cc/odnmain/img/odn0410main.jpg

http://the-sun.on.cc/channels/news/20080410/img/sn03041001_big.jpg

http://the-sun.on.cc/channels/news/20080410/img/sn03041002_big.jpg

http://the-sun.on.cc/channels/news/20080410/img/sn03041005_big.jpg

http://the-sun.on.cc/channels/news/20080410/img/sn03041022_big.jpg

The travel plans of an estimated 30,000 people were thrown into chaos when Oasis Hong Kong said it was going into liquidation.

Immediately affected were 300 people booked to travel to London last night and hundreds of students returning to school in England and Canada in the next few days.

"They knew there was a problem last month so why were they selling tickets on March 31 to travel in July. That is dishonest," said Allan Bell, who spent HK$15,030 on tickets for his family, at the airline's headquarters in Tung Chung.

Maggie Leung, a third-year student in Britain, said: "They were still selling tickets this morning online and now they are liquidating. I never thought of this." She spent HK$5,000 on tickets.

Chan Chung-yan, 17, said her school in England reopens on Monday. "I am not seeking compensation. I just want them to arrange for another flight," she said.

Dozens of crew members were stranded overseas having been told to wait for orders.

The first to step in to help was Cathay Pacific, which offered HK$2,500 one-way tickets, excluding tax and surcharges, for those who had booked Oasis tickets to London and Vancouver for the next two weeks. Interested parties can call 2747-6181 for details. Cathay is operating two extra London flights on Friday and Sunday with priority for students.

British Airways later chipped in with one- way tickets at HK$1,250, excluding tax and surcharges, for trips between Hong Kong and London, valid until April 30. Call 2822-9000
.

The Consumer Council said it had received 18 complaints as of 5pm with 88 inquiries.

"It is with great regret that Oasis announces that today the airline has voluntarily applied to the Hong Kong court to appoint a provisional liquidator," Oasis chief executive Stephen Miller told a hastily arranged press conference.

He expressed confidence a strategic investor could be found within the next few days. That said, he left without taking questions.

Eddie Middleton, head of restructuring services at KPMG, the airline's provisional liquidator, failed to say how many passengers were affected, nor could he give details about the airline's financial situation.

The airline is reportedly suffering from an accumulated loss of HK$1 billion.

Middleton said the airline's 700 staff have received their March salaries.

Passengers holding Oasis tickets should not go to the airport but call the airline's hotline 3628-0628.

Eva Cheng Yu-wah, Secretary for Transport and Housing, said it was an isolated case.

Cheng said the government first heard of Oasis' financial problems on Saturday.

She said Oasis had been speaking to potential investors and stopped selling tickets once talks broke down. She said it was inappropriate for officials to publicize the development, as that may have jeopardized the talks.

The government is setting up an emergency task force to help passengers and has sent immigration officers to Vancouver and London to help passengers with special needs.

why oasis got all 747?...didn't they consider a smaller aircraft like A330 or 777 perhaps..? well, the story end, its too late for oasis already....

I had a hunch that setting aside precious space on their 747s for business class wasn't going to fly. Turns out I was right.

Rivals cash in on Oasis air chaos
Hong Kong Standard
Friday, April 11, 2008

Stranded students trying to return to Britain and Canada for the start of school continued their scramble for tickets yesterday after the collapse of Oasis Hong Kong Airlines.

A consumer watchdog has also played down calls for a fund to protect airline passengers, saying closures like Oasis are rare.

Meanwhile, Cathay Pacific said yesterday its two additional flights to London today and Sunday are full.

A Cathay spokeswoman said that the airline's seven daily flights to London and Vancouver over the next two weeks are "tight," while advance booking on the two routes in July and August are already two-thirds full.

Anthony Hong, of Great Eastern Tourist, an agency that handled small tour groups for Oasis, said students usually book their tickets well in advance to get cheaper prices and seats have been filled up to 80 percent.

A spokesman from the Transport and Housing Bureau, which is coordinating emergency measures in the wake of the Oasis collapse, said about 1,500 affected passengers have already made alternative arrangements.

Other airlines yesterday joined Cathay Pacific and British Airways in offering discounts to affected passengers. Ticketing officers at British Airways, however, said their Hong Kong to London flights were fully booked for April, a day after the airline offered a special April-only HK$1,250 one-way ticket deal.

Officers said only a small number of seats are available for flights from London to Hong Kong.

According to reservation figures from the Travel Industry Council, from now until February next year there are 60,000 passenger reservations on Oasis flights, involving an estimated 30,000 people.

Airline customers are not protected in the case of a collapse in the same way as travelers who book tours with registered travel agents.

Consumer Council chief executive Connie Lau Yin-hing said serious considerations need to be made before setting up a fund to protect airline customers.

"Say, the fund's structure, the design, the nature ... there are a whole lot of elements to look at before you can say it is truly feasible and beneficial to the consumers," she said, maintaining the council is still studying the matter.

The council received 205 complaints from Oasis customers yesterday and 334 inquiries, involving a total of HK$2.2 million.

Confederation of Trade Unions general secretary Lee Cheuk-yan, citing the provisional liquidator, said Oasis did not terminate contracts of its 700 staff who will be on paid leave until a new investor comes in.

Lee said the airline also pledged to bring all staff stationed overseas back to Hong Kong. Some 28 staff in Germany and Namibia who have been outsourced will have to work there until next Friday.

Besides Cathay and BA, Air Canada, China Air and Virgin also have special offers now.

Feel bad for the 28 staff get stuck in Germany and especially for those are in Namibia.
I heard those stuck Namibia can't even buy a flight ticket out of their own pockets under working visa to leave the country. Hope they can come home sooner.

Prefer the established airlines anyway. Flying across the world should have its price.

Qantas fly HKG-LHR on a continuation from MEL, why dont they give them a go?

Feud not fuel downed Oasis
Hong Kong Standard
Monday, April 14, 2008

Quarrelling between various investors led to the collapse of Oasis Hong Kong Airlines not high oil prices or a flawed business model as previously thought, sources told The Standard.

The likely demise of the start-up carrier was triggered by a fallout between the partners in the company, people familiar with the situation said. Chairman Raymond Lee Cho-min wanted to keep Oasis in business, but other investors were unwilling to pour in more money after additional cash injections and wanted to pull out following repeated disagreements, the sources said.

The revelation left open a brighter glimmer of hope that the citys only long-haul budget airline could be resurrected, and flights could take off again, if the shareholders quarrel is resolved. A source close to one investor said there may be progress on finding a white knight in about a week.

More than 30,000 stranded passengers have become the hardest-hit victims of the airlines closure, and nobody has been able to tell them when if ever they will be able to recover their money.

Oasis Airlines was founded by the husband-and-wife team of Raymond Lee Cho-min and Priscilla Lee Hwang. Other major investors include Value Partners (0806) which invested US$30 million (HK$234 million) in Oasis in the form of a convertible bond and Allan Wong Chi-yun, chairman of VTech Holdings (0303). Trinity Textiles founder Richard K Lee is also an investor.

The investor feud led to an attempt to oust Raymond Lee out of the chairman position, the sources said.

Raymond and Priscilla Lee control 50 to 60 percent of the company. Value Partners, founded by Cheah Cheng Hye, holds a bond that is convertible into a stake of between 5 and 10 percent. VTechs Wong personally holds a stake of 17 percent, with the balance held by a small group of local investors, including Trinitys Lee.

According to people familiar with the situation, both Richard Lee and Allan Wong resigned from the Oasis Airlines board at the end of January.

They were angered that they had continuously supplied more funds to Oasis, even though chairman Lee had not injected any new capital himself after the first round of funding, according to the sources.

Also at the end of January, Oasiss auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers, refused to sign off on the auditors report because the company did not have sufficient funding for day-to-day operations, according to the sources. PwC asked existing shareholders to sign a letter of support, pledging to inject more capital.

Richard Lee and Allan Wong agreed to sign the letter if Raymond Lee transferred some of his shares to them to reflect their increased level of funding support, the sources said. However, the Oasis chairman refused their offer, according to the sources.

Separately, the sources said Oasis adopted an extraordinary company structure that preserved investors interests at the expense of customers who had booked tickets with the airline.

The sources said Oasis was structured as two separate companies - an operating company that ran the flights, and an asset company that held assets such as the planes owned by the company.

Because of company structure, the original investors have a much better chance of getting their money back than the ticketholders, who had no such protections. Unable to raise more funding from existing investors, chairman Lee is believed to have pledged his stake in the company as collateral to take out a US$10 million personal loan from Cheung Kong Group.

Despite fighting amongst the company's partners, sources close to the bank creditors of Oasis Airlines said they were comfortable with the company's financial situation after Raymond Lee's US$10 million injection and had not triggered the provisional liquidation.

Oasis Airlines had previously conducted a stress-test analysis that predicted peak crude-oil prices of US$100 per barrel and showed that Oasis could withstand such high prices, the banking sources said.

A source close to one Oasis investor agreed that the financial situation of the airline was stable at the time it shut down. "I believe that Hong Kong and Asia has a market for discount airlines," the source said.

Priscilla Lee declined to entertain questions when The Standard reached her by telephone yesterday.

Prefer the established airlines anyway. Flying across the world should have its price.

Yea, flying in economy, especially long haul, already is tight as it is. I can't imagine seats being shrunk more to pack people in, and I"m not even a big person!

I didn't think Oasis was packing in more passengers by reducing seat size and pitch than other airlines' configurations.

RTHK News:
Cheung Kong denies interest in Oasis (http://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/news/englishnews/20080415/news_20080415_56_482749.htm)

Hearing planned to clip the wings of troubled Oasis
Hong Kong Standard
Tuesday, April 15, 2008

A hearing to revoke the air transport license of Oasis Hong Kong Airlines will take place before June 11, a source said last night.

Oasis currently holds two licenses - an air operator's certificate issued by the Civil Aviation Department and an air transport license issued by the Air Transport Licensing Authority.

The air operator's certificate mainly concerns the safety of air operations and was temporarily suspended when the airline applied for provisional liquidation last Wednesday.

Resumption of the operator certificate will not be a problem for a future owner of Oasis provided the airline can prove its ability to operate safely.

But reapplying for an air transport license will not be an easy task if it is revoked.

It was said the licensing authority had written to the license holder of Oasis about a hearing on the validity of the air transport license scheduled before June 11 - the day when a High Court liquidation hearing on the airline will take place.

The source said if the license is revoked, even the "white knight" for whom Oasis chairman Raymond Lee Cho-min has been longing may not be able to save the airline.

Meanwhile, angry passengers grounded by the Oasis collapse have flooded the consumer watchdog with complaints amounting to HK$11 million in dishonored tickets. In the six days since the airline went under amid suspected boardroom rancor and applied to be liquidated, hundreds of disappointed customers have taken their grievances to the Consumer Council.

Up to 5pm yesterday, the Consumer Council received 779 complaints and 901 inquiries.

The cases involved HK$11 million. The minimum refund being sought is HK$1,444, the highest, HK$93,955, for a family of seven that bought round-trip tickets to Vancouver.

The cases have been forwarded to provisional liquidator KPMG.

The latest twist in the airline saga comes after a Chinese newspaper reported the Oasis chairman was confident a "white knight" will soon step in to keep alive the dreams of Hong Kong people who wish to travel around the world at budget prices.

KPMG declined to comment on Chinese newspaper reports that Cheung Kong Holdings is considering a stake in the troubled airline.

Oriental Daily reported Lee as expressing confidence that Oasis will be back in business in the near future.

Oasis had been in business for 17 months operating daily flights to London and six flights weekly to Vancouver.

The Standard reported yesterday quarreling between various investors led to the airline's collapse.

I didn't think Oasis was packing in more passengers by reducing seat size and pitch than other airlines' configurations.That's right. Pitch and legroom were actually better than average. They served two good meals and gave you a seat back TV for every passenger in economy. They were actually better than most full service carriers. I have flown with Finnair to Japan and been stuck with no entertainment for the whole flight and don't even get me started on China Eastern! Oasis' service was excellent.

somebody please save Oasis!!

somebody please save Oasis!!

The company is US$6.5 billion in debt. If everyone in the world gives one US Dollar to the creditors, we could restart the airline.:cheers:

Oasis friend mulls helping
Hong Kong Standard
Friday, April 18, 2008

Oasis Hong Kong Airlines investor Allan Wong Chi-yun said yesterday he will decide after an upcoming creditors' meeting whether he will step in with more funds to save Oasis.

However, he hinted that the company's business model may need to be changed.

In his first public comments on the matter since Oasis collapsed, the chairman of VTech Holdings (0303) said he is "a bit disappointed" in his investment. "In the beginning, I just wanted to help my friends," Wong told reporters on the sidelines of the Bank of East Asia (0023) annual general meeting. When asked whether he is willing to act as a white knight for Oasis, Wong said: "I will make the decision after the creditors' meeting."

Wong said several potential investors have contacted him showing their interest to invest in Oasis Airlines, and he connected the interested parties to provisional liquidator KPMG.

A person familiar with the situation told The Standard that "numerous parties" have expressed interest in acquiring the carrier, including some "well-known local individuals." The source said KPMG and the company's existing shareholders are keen to keep the company together, rather than selling it off piecemeal.

Wong said yesterday there is still room for budget carriers in the Hong Kong market but noted: "I expect the business model of budget airlines in Hong Kong will be changed in the future." Wong holds 17 percent in the budget airline. He said he has been in touch with Oasis founder Raymond Lee Cho-min in recent days. "There are no problems. We are still friends," he said.

RTHK News:
Oasis staff laid off as rescue bid fails (http://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/news/englishnews/20080418/news_20080418_56_483581.htm)

-- Oh, man! :ohno:

Founder hopeful about Oasis' future
5 May 2008
South China Morning Post

The founder and former chairman of budget carrier Oasis Hong Kong Airlines remains hopeful about its prospects, saying the company has been in talks with potential buyers.

Oasis, the world's first budget long-haul airline, went into provisional liquidation last month. About 700 staff lost their jobs and around 50,000 passengers were affected.

"We're moving forward and we remain cautiously optimistic," the Reverend Raymond Lee Cho-min said yesterday. When asked if the firm was in talks with more than one investor, Mr Lee said: "[We] do it one by one."

However, he declined to disclose details about the potential investors and the status of the negotiations.

He also refused to comment on a media report about Hainan Airlines - the fourth largest airline on the mainland - possibly rescuing Oasis, saying he and his wife could not give any information at this stage.

Even so, Mr Lee said he hoped the airline could find an investor before next month and announce some good news soon. A liquidation hearing is scheduled for June 11, when the provisional liquidator, accounting firm KPMG, is expected to assess the airline's financial situation.

Three weeks ago, KPMG said the airline was in urgent talks with about five "really serious" investors over rescuing the insolvent carrier or buying its assets. But no confirmed deals have been announced.

Air transport licences held by Oasis Airlines have lapsed
*********************************************************

The Air Transport Licensing Authority today (June 6) informed Oasis Hong Kong Airlines Limited that the 13 air transport licences issued to the airline by the authority had lapsed because the airline had gone into winding up/liquidation.

The 13 licences were for operating scheduled services on the following routes –

(a)Hong Kong/ London Gatwick and vice versa
(b)Hong Kong/Cologne Bonn/Berlin Sch?nefeld Airport/Milan Malpensa Airport and vice versa
(c)Hong Kong/ Oakland/ Chicago and vice versa
(d)Hong Kong/ Vancouver and vice versa
(e)Hong Kong/ Sydney/ Melbourne and vice versa
(f)Hong Kong/ San Francisco and vice versa
(g)Hong Kong/ London Gatwick/ Manchester and vice versa
(h)Hong Kong/ Singapore and vice versa
(i)Hong Kong/ Bangkok and vice versa
(j)Hong Kong/ Denpasar and vice versa
(k)Hong Kong/ Ho Chi Ming City and vice versa
(l)Hong Kong/ Las Vegas/ New York/ Los Angeles/ San Francisco/ Vancouver/ Boston/ Toronto/ Honolulu and vice versa
(m)Hong Kong/ Amsterdam/ Cologne/ Dubai/ Dusseldorf/ Frankfurt/ Istanbul/ London/ Luxembourg/ Manchester/ Milan/ Moscow/ Paris/ Tel Aviv/ Zurich/ Baku (Azerbaijan)/ Bangalore/ Bangkok/ Delhi/ Ho Chi Ming City/ Jakarta/ Kula Lumpur/ Manila/ Mumbai/ Osaka/ Seoul/ Singapore/ Tokyo/ Xiamen and vice versa

A common condition of these licences was that the licence would lapse if the holder of the licence was going into liquidation or being wound up. Having carefully considered submissions made on behalf of Oasis, the authority was of the view that, following Oasis' presentation of a petition for its own winding up by the court due to insolvency, the appointment of provisional liquidators for the airline by the court and the cessation of operation of Oasis' air services on April 9, 2008, Oasis has gone into winding up or liquidation. In accordance with the licence condition, the licences held by Oasis have lapsed.

The full written decision (English only) can be obtained at the Authority's website -http://www.thb.gov.hk/eng/boards/transport/air/atla.htm

Ends/Friday, June 6, 2008
Issued at HKT 16:00

NNNN

Word is that Stanley Ho is thinking about gambling at a rescue attempt.

It's over for Oasis. :ohno:

RTHK News:
Court winds up Oasis Airlines (http://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/news/englishnews/20080611/news_20080611_56_497223.htm)

Oasis pair deny conning firm into buying worthless shares
12 February 2009
South China Morning Post

The husband and wife team behind defunct Oasis Hong Kong Airlines yesterday denied accusations that they conned the company into buying worthless shares in its operating division.

The Reverend Raymond Lee Cho-min and his wife, Priscilla Hwang Lee, described the claims in a lawsuit filed against them this week as a "joke".

"We were completely shocked and outraged," Mr Lee said. "It is utterly without foundation."

The lawsuit, filed by the airline's capital-raising division, Oasis Mezzanine Funding, alleged that the couple "misappropriated" US$4.8 million from the share-purchase deal.

That transaction was done without company approval or an independent valuation of money-losing Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, which ran the airline's day-to-day operations, the lawsuit claimed.

But Mr Lee said yesterday that company directors and shareholders had full knowledge of the deal and the US$350 million value attached to the share-issuing division.

Money that allegedly ended up in the couple's pockets was actually used to fund the airline's operations, he said. Mr Lee said he and his wife had agreed to provide evidence that the transaction was legitimate and authorised. But three days before the deadline, the plaintiff filed its lawsuit.

The transaction was done for tax reasons related to the couple's status as US-born citizens, Mr Lee said.

He also suggested that the lawsuit was sparked by anger over the airline's demise. "I think we all feel very badly that the airline went under. We all suffered great losses," he said.

Oasis, the world's first budget long-haul airline, grounded flights in April after operating for less than 18 months. About 700 staff lost their jobs and about 50,000 passengers were affected. Mr Lee had said the carrier went under because of higher costs for aviation fuel and planes.

In May, a High Court judge ruled that Mr Lee and other Oasis founders had placed the company in voluntary liquidation to avoid paying a HK$170 million debt owed to the Bank of China.

Kwoks almost owned Oasis, founders claim
13 February 2009
Hong Kong Standard

Objections from Oasis Hong Kong Airlines investors Allan Wong Chi-yun and Richard K Lee scuppered a 2007 deal that would have seen the Kwok family, of Sun Hung Kai Properties (0016), take majority control of the airline, Oasis founders Raymond Lee Cho- min and Priscilla Lee Hwang charged yesterday. The connection between SHKP and Oasis would have been akin to the relationship between conglomerate Swire Pacific (0019) and Cathay Pacific Airways (0293), Priscilla Lee told reporters.

In a deal spearheaded by Walter Kwok Ping-sheung in June 2007, the couple wanted to sell their stake in Oasis to the Kwok family, Raymond Lee said yesterday. He said the eldest Kwok brother, Walter, was keen to take advantage of synergies he saw between the airline and his family's property, hotel and restaurant interests.

Oasis was seeking additional funding during its first year of operations because of unexpectedly high oil prices.

As a courtesy, Raymond and Priscilla Lee informed the other Oasis board members, Allan Wong and Richard Lee, of their intentions to sell their stake, as the four were friends who invested in Oasis together, Priscilla Lee said. However, the other two partners would not accept a deal that saw the Kwok family take majority control, because they feared being sidelined, she said.

The negotiations about an investment from the Kwok family took place before a public Kwok family feud erupted and before Walter Kwok took a leave from SHKP starting in February 2008.

Meanwhile, Raymond and Priscilla Lee said Wong and Richard Lee later tried to push them out of the company, giving the Oasis founders an ultimatum they would invest another US$100 million (HK$780 million) to keep the airline flying only if the couple surrendered their stake for one dollar.

Priscilla Lee said the couple was coming forward now to share their story because ``it's time to ... clear the air.''

``Truth-telling is more important than peacekeeping,'' she said. ``Otherwise it's falsehood and deception.''

The demand the Lee couple give up their shares came after Wong and Richard Lee stopped a number of outside investors from coming in, according to Priscilla Lee. She said Wong and Richard Lee had already ruled out selling a stake in Oasis to Macquarie, saying they preferred to bring in local tycoon interests, who might be more in line with their vision for the company. But a possible deal with Cheung Kong (Holdings) (0001) in May 2007 was also vetoed by Wong, she said, because he did not feel comfortable with Cheung Kong.

甘泉主席 指董事局允購股
12 February 2009
香港經濟日報

已清盤的甘泉航空主席李卓民夫婦前日遭甘泉集團同系公司Oasia Mezzanine Funding Ltd（OMF）入稟高院，指他們未經董事局同意，利用OMF資金購入兩人持有的甘泉航空股份，向他們追討該3,490萬元款項。李氏夫婦昨日發表聲明否認有關指控，質疑入稟背後另有惡意動機；聲明中強調，當日OMF購入甘泉航空的股份，是完全經過OMF董事局授權，而有關股份的估價，董事局亦同意，資金用作甘泉航空營運開支。

聲明指出，有關決定在董事局會議紀錄上列明，並有當時董事簽名批准，包括萬邦實業創辦人李國源、偉易達老闆黃子欣，及前港龍總裁苗禮士。

so this airline will not come back from the graveyard?

so this airline will not come back from the graveyard?

It's gone for good.

It's gone for good.
:(

http://i43.tinypic.com/2wfse2e.jpg

Oasis Airlines founders go bankrupt
1 May 2009
South China Morning Post

The husband and wife behind defunct Oasis Hong Kong Airlines have gone bankrupt, according to court filings.

The Reverend Raymond Lee Cho-min and Priscilla Hwang Lee made the application for bankruptcy in the High Court this week. The couple declined to comment last night.

Their application comes two months after the couple denied claims that they had conned Oasis into buying worthless shares in its operating division.

The lawsuit, filed in February by the airline's capital-raising division, Oasis Mezzanine Funding, alleged that the couple "misappropriated" US$4.8 million from the deal.

That transaction was done without company approval or an independent valuation of loss-making Oasis, the lawsuit claimed.

The couple described the lawsuit as a "joke". Mr Lee said: "We were completely shocked and outraged. It is utterly without foundation."

The lawsuit was probably sparked by anger over the airline's demise, he said, adding: "I think we all feel very badly that the airline went under. We all suffered great losses."

The couple said they had agreed to provide evidence that the transaction was legitimate and authorised, but Oasis had filed the lawsuit three days before the deadline to provide that documentation.

Oasis, the world's first budget long-haul airline, grounded flights in April last year after operating for less than 18 months. About 700 staff lost their jobs and 50,000 passengers were affected.

A High Court judge has ruled that Mr Lee and other Oasis founders placed the company in voluntary liquidation to avoid paying a HK$170 million debt to the Bank of China.

What about the ex-SIA 747's they have? Scrapped?

What about the ex-SIA 747's they have? Scrapped?

I saw their pictures in a magazine. They are found in the Mojave Desert in the US-but not scrapped.

I saw their pictures in a magazine. They are found in the Mojave Desert in the US-but not scrapped.

Thanks for info.

Ouch, thats quite sad. Oasis' livery was very nice, and its now just sitting in the Mojave Desert ..

甘泉前主席 再遭申請破產
30 May 2009
星島日報

已清盤的廉價航空公司甘泉香港航空前主席李卓民及妻子黃慧恂，繼上周遭惠理集團旗下私募基金Value Partners Strategic Equity Fund入稟高等法院申請破產後，前日再遭Winchesto Finance Company Ltd入稟法院申請破產。案件編號︰高院破產七四五三─二○○九。

Oasis airline trolleys fly out the saleroom
5 July 2009
South China Morning Post

The chicken or the fish?

Dinner parties might take on a whole new feel with bargain-hunters snapping up trolleys, earplugs, cutlery, paper cups and business class amenity packs from the once loved, now defunct, Oasis Hong Kong Airlines.

"It's all been popular," said Peter Yu of China Wave International.

"Lots of people have bought the trolleys. You can use them in the kitchen, or in the backyard for a barbecue. They offer a huge amount of storage. One woman who lives at Parkview even bought two of the big ones."

China Wave International is a trading company that won the tender to sell the stock from GoIndustry DoveBid, which specialises in the sale of surplus and used industrial equipment.

Oasis filed for provisional liquidation in April last year. About 700 workers lost their jobs, and thousands of passengers were affected.

Mr Yu said the trolleys - he has two in his kitchen - offered a lot more flexibility than a standard kitchen unit and cost from HK$2,000 to HK$4,000, depending on size and condition. The trays are sold separately and cost between HK$10 and HK$120 each.

Two hundred trolleys have been sold and, with about 80 left, trolley-dolly wannabes need to get to China Wave's Kwai Chung showroom fast. Business has been brisk, with between 50 and 200 customers a day, all keen to get a piece of the world's first budget long-haul airline.

The paper cups and the plastic disposable cutlery have also been popular, as was the toilet paper, and - not surprisingly - the alcohol. All are now sold out.

Mr Yu attributes the rush on the cutlery and cups to the low price, "almost five to six times cheaper than in the supermarket".

You too could soon be eating with a touch of class, if you fork out HK$20 for a business class cutlery set. Amenity kits are HK$30, headphones HK$10.

Word of mouth and keen collectors have helped sales soar, with more than half of the 300,000 items already snapped up. Mr Yu is hoping his posting on website Asiaxpat will help him shift the rest.

The most expensive and prized item is a three-metre-long model of an Oasis aircraft, the only one of its kind. "It's definitely a collector's item. One guy offered us HK$20,000 for it, but we haven't decided what to do with it yet or how much to sell it for. There is only one in the world."

Those keen to get their hands on a cabin attendant's uniform are going to be disappointed. They were not included in the job lot.

"People keep asking us for the flight attendant uniforms," Mr Yau said. "I don't know why. You figure it out."

OASIS returns to HK - by rayray from HKADB :

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whats happening to these aircraft?

whats happening to these aircraft?

I believe this one is being decommissioned / retrofitted. The Oasis plane returned to HK very recently. I saw it earlier this week when I flew out.

By hksarprc from HKADB :

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By rayray from HKADB :

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Small airlines complain over licence delays
Route bids in limbo since Oasis fall
14 December 2009
South China Morning Post

Hong Kong's surviving smaller airlines say they are suffering from a regulatory backlash arising from the collapse of budget carrier Oasis Airlines.

Executives at Hong Kong Airlines and Hong Kong Express Airways say that since the collapse of Oasis under a mountain of debt in April last year, they have been unable to get approvals from the Air Traffic Licensing Authority (ATLA) for any new services.

The authority came under fire for granting Oasis a licence to fly to London in 2006 before it had established a track record as a designated Hong Kong carrier. The airline's subsequent collapse after just 16 months of operations embarrassed the authority and has led to allegations that it has made the licence application process unnecessarily rigid.

"We are exhausted with the back-and-forth paperwork now involved in licence applications," said William Chan Kit, deputy general manager of distribution and planning at Hong Kong Express and Hong Kong Airlines.

"I understand that they don't want to make a mistake again. But this is just beyond the limit."

An ATLA licence, which is decided on by an independent committee, is needed before a carrier can apply to the Transport and Housing Bureau for the right to fly to a particular destination.

Hong Kong Airlines and Hong Kong Express have applied for licences to fly to more than 50 destinations over the past two years. However, not one application has been approved, requiring the airlines to either withdraw or revise their applications.

Now 11 applications for licences to fly to destinations in places such as Taiwan, Southeast Asia, Japan, South Korea, the mainland, India, Australia and Europe are still pending. The earliest was submitted more than a year ago. Before Oasis went bankrupt in April 2008, a licence application process generally took only two to three months, said Chan.

The delays mean that time is running out for Hong Kong Airlines as the first two of 20 Airbus 330 aircraft on order are due to be delivered to the carrier in May. It plans to deploy the wide-bodied aircraft on a Moscow-Hong Kong route and submitted an application to fly the route in May.

"ATLA is never content with our answers and keeps asking us for more supplementary information. Some questions are so insignificant that even my financial director did not ask them," said Chan.

Last month, the authority demanded a "more focused" business plan from the company for the routes, including the result of any market research and forecast passenger load factors.

The authority also queried the financial status of Hong Kong Airlines and the support from its parent, HNA Group. Hong Kong Airlines has HK$181 million in share capital and its operations are funded mainly by loans and support from HNA.

Its liabilities are expected to reach HK$1.5 billion by 2011. "I can't say ATLA's concern about our finances is groundless, but the undertakings by HNA should be enough to clear their doubts," Chan said.

Under the Air Transport (Licensing of Air Services) regulations, there are a number of guiding principles under which the authority may grant or refuse an application, including the level of demand for air transport in the targeted area, whether in its view the applicant will be able to provide a satisfactory service and the financial resources of the applicant.

However, there is no timetable for how long it should take to grant or refuse a licence. "Sometimes, I think I would prefer if they rejected our case right away instead of continuously asking for more supplementary information," Chan said.

He added that the worst-case scenario now facing the carriers would be having to ground the new A330s, which he calculated would cost about US$1 million per month, taking into account rental cost and insurance. "The licensing authority is not protecting the public interest. It is restricting the liberalisation of the aviation market, which is against the principle of the government to promote competition," Chan said.

A Transport and Housing Bureau spokesman said: "Every application is processed and considered strictly in accordance with [licensing] regulations. We do not comment on individual applications."