✈ | Hong Kong Airlines | HX

By calvincarmen from a Hong Kong discussion forum :

Hong Kong Express Airways Launches Shanghai Service with Inaugural Flight
Press Release
11 Jun 2008

Hong Kong Express Airways further strengthened its efforts to become Hong Kong’s carrier of choice today with the launch of its new Hong Kong – Shanghai route that offers daily flights.

In an intimate ceremony at Hong Kong International Airport, the departure of the Shanghai route’s inaugural flight marked a significant boost for the airline, which has already this year successfully launched five new routes to Japan; and will next week launch a daily service to Beijing, just in time for the 2008 Olympic Games. The airline’s success is underscored by its commitment to providing a quality inflight experience to ensure a comfortable and safe journey.

Ronnie Choi, President of Hong Kong Express Airways said, “We are very proud to launch this trunk route of China as it heralds a milestone in our company’s history.

In the past few months, we have launched many new routes which will greatly expand our customer base, as well as bring in some very experienced aviation professionals to strengthen the management team. In the coming months, we will also strengthen our presence in the market and introduce direct services to more new destinations in Asia.

Last year we carried over one million passengers in and out of Hong Kong International Airport, and we expect that number to increase exponentially with our new services, and those yet to come.”

Mr Choi gave special thanks to the Assistant Director-General, Air Services of the Civil Aviation Department, Stephen Kwok, and the Airport Management Director, Howard Eng, for their support of the airline.

Mr Choi, the Hong Kong Express Airways management team and staff toasted the airline’s success together with the guests.

By the fourth quarter of this year Hong Kong Express will have the air rights to operate three flights daily to both Shanghai and Beijing.

Hong Kong Express Airways Increases Flights Throughout Asia
Press Release
01 Aug 2008

Hong Kong Express Airways continues to strengthen its presence and position in Asia, as the carrier of choice in Hong Kong, with increased services and new routes.

With a firm understanding of market needs and demands, Hong Kong Express Airways recently launched daily services to Shanghai and Beijing, as well as a four-flights-a-week service to Seoul. The carrier is planning new routes to Osaka, Phuket, Denpasar and Manila in September, as well as additional routes to various cities in Japan in October.

Raymond Ng, Director, Commercial, Hong Kong Express Airways said, “We are delighted to strengthen and diversify our network, and provide passengers with increased flexibility to travel throughout the region.”

Okinawa has emerged as a hot-spot for Hong Kong travellers, especially beach lovers and divers. From 1 August 2008, Hong Kong Express Airways’ Hong Kong to Okinawa service will be offered daily to meet the growing demand.

“At the same time, we have rescheduled some of our less-travelled routes and reduced capacity on others to minimize the impact of rising fuel prices. This will include the temporary suspension of the Hiroshima and Okayama services beginning 1 September, 2008.” said Mr Ng.

Two foreign airlines to serve Bali
4 September 2008
The Jakarta Post

Two more foreign airlines have been scheduled to provide direct flights to Bali in the near future said Heru Legowo, general manager for airport operations at Ngurah Rai international Airport on Wednesday.

"The two airlines are Hong Kong Express based in Hong Kong and Virgin Blue in Australia," Heru said, speaking for the state-owned firm PT Angkasa Pura I, which manages the airport.

He said the two airlines would start offering direct flights to Bali later this month: Hong Kong Express to begin on Sept. 11 with four flights from Hong Kong a week and Virgin Blue would fly in 11 times a week from Cairns.

"The start date for Virgin Blue flights has not been set yet, but they have been scheduled to start within the month," he said.

The two airlines will raise the number of foreign airlines serving Bali directly to 26.

Heru expected more foreign airlines will help increase the number of foreign tourists visiting the resort island, especially from Hong Kong and Australia.

As Hong Kong Express also flies to South Korea and Taiwan, "we hope the new services will significantly raise the number of visitors to Bali", he said.

Aloysius Purwa, chair of the Bali chapter of the Association of Indonesian Tour and Travel Agencies (ASITA), hailed the planned services by the two foreign airlines.

The rising number of foreign tourists visiting Bali reflects rising international interest in the island, Purwa said.

"This will ensure Bali remains one of the favorite tourism destinations in the world," he said.

"Bali needs still more foreign airlines to enable foreign tourists to go there."

Purwa added the number of foreign airlines serving direct flights to Bali is still too small to attract significantly more visitors.

Based on figures from the Denpasar office of the Central Statistics Agency, the number of foreign tourists visiting Bali from January to July 2008 reached about 1.11 million, an increase of 21.64 percent compared to 912,270 tourists during the corresponding period last year.

Pilots suspended over 'taxiway takeoff bid' Captain denies claims; investigations launched
20 September 2008
South China Morning Post

The pilot and co-pilot of a Hong Kong Airlines passenger plane have been grounded after they allegedly tried to take off from a taxiway rather than a runway at Chek Lap Kok airport.

An air traffic controller raised the alarm when he saw a South Korea-bound Boeing 737 carrying 122 passengers hurtling down a taxiway running parallel to the north runway at 4am last Saturday, the Civil Aviation Department (CAD) said.

The controller radioed the pilot and alerted him in time for him to abort takeoff after about 500 metres and take off from the runway instead, investigators said.

Following the incident, managers have sent a memo and maps of the layout of Chek Lap Kok to all pilots reminding them: "Ensure you are on a runway before taking off."

The incident took place on flight HX2692, a charter flight bound for Cheong Ju and operated by seven-year-old Hong Kong Airlines, which - with sister airline Hong Kong Express - flies to 30 cities in Asia.

Indonesian captain Indra Santrianto and his first officer Diego Martin Chiadria, an Argentinian aged about 30, have been suspended from duty while the airline and CAD continue their investigations.

Mr Indra, who is in his late 40s, was summoned to explain himself last weekend and insisted in an interview and a written report to his managers that he did not try to take off from the taxiway, a management source at the airline said.

Instead, he is understood to have argued that he was travelling so rapidly down the taxiway for the early morning flight that air traffic controllers may have mistaken this for an attempted takeoff. Flight data examined by investigators showed the plane was travelling at a higher speed than would be expected for an aircraft taxiing towards a takeoff position, the source said.

Hong Kong Airlines was yesterday awaiting a report from the CAD and for details of recordings of conversations between the pilots and air traffic controllers.

A management source said Hong Kong Airlines was also taking steps to ensure all its pilots had practice in using taxiways at Chek Lap Kok before flying in and out of Hong Kong.

Taxiways at the airport run the entire length of runways but are narrower, have different coloured lighting and, unlike runways, do not have lights up the centre.

One senior Hong Kong-based pilot said last night: "There is nothing on board a plane to warn you if you take off from a taxiway or if you stray onto an active runway, and this is a problem that needs addressing.

"Fortunately, at Hong Kong, air traffic controllers have on-ground radar so they would be able to tell very quickly if a plane was trying to take off in the wrong place."

A Hong Kong Airlines spokeswoman said: "This case is currently under investigation by our management, so we can make no further comment on it at the moment."

The CAD said in a statement that despite the pilot's claims, it had concluded that the aircraft "attempted to take off at taxiway A instead of the north runway".

There was no danger to the aircraft or the passengers at any point, it said.

A CAD spokesman said there had been three cases involving pilots taking wrong turns into taxiways when attempting a takeoff. "Improvements to the lighting, taxiway signs and airlines' operations procedures have been implemented after the last two occurrences in June 2003 and May 2007," he said.

HK Airlines to halt mainland routes
23 October 2008
South China Morning Post

Hong Kong Airlines will suspend three mainland routes as early as Sunday to stem losses amid weakening travel demand, according to a source.

The carrier would halt flights to Xian, Chengdu and Chongqing when the winter schedule began because bookings for those routes were lukewarm, sources said, adding the Xian route would return next summer.

Travel agents said quotes for the three routes were available until October 31 but the airline had yet to update prices for next month.

"We can't book tickets for our clients on those routes from November due to the lack of new information," said a travel agent.

Although Xian, Chengdu and Chongqing were popular destinations, travellers from the United States and Europe usually fly there via Beijing and Shanghai instead of Hong Kong as more airlines were using mainland cities as gateways, an industry veteran said.

Foreign carriers such as Lufthansa, Continental Airlines and Northwest Airlines have increased their presence in Beijing and Shanghai in recent months. Connections at the two mainland cities were also more convenient because of their more frequent schedules to other domestic cities, he said.

Hong Kong Airlines and Hong Kong Express Airways, both partly owned by the mainland's HNA Group, had ended passenger flights to Xiamen and Nanchang because of insufficient demand.

After the reshuffle, the two airlines would operate 13 mainland routes, including Shanghai, Haikou, Guilin and Hangzhou, although all but Haikou were loss-making, a source said.

The two airlines had no plans to merge because some of their aviation rights would be forfeited if they combined, the source added.

The source said they were struggling to obtain credit as banks no longer considered receivables from travel agencies as eligible collateral.

As such, the airlines were relying on shareholders' loans to fund operating expenses such as fuel costs and wages but the amount was capped at HK$2 million, he added.

Hong Kong Airlines starts medium haul passenger and cargo service
Press Release
24 Oct 2008

Hong Kong Airlines will introduce A330 wide-body operations in 2009, providing medium haul passenger and cargo services between Hong Kong and cities in the Middle East and Australia. Part of the process involves personnel changes to meet the different needs of operating wide-body aircraft.

The Company has only been serving short haul in the Asia region in past years. By the end of 2007, Hong Kong Airlines have placed a firm order for a total of fifty A330 wide-body aircraft and A320 aircraft. The plan is to expand into medium haul market which may be introduced as early as the middle of 2009.

Part of the plan involves change of fleet composition, reducing the number of Boeing 737-800 narrow-body aircraft currently in use, as we introduce A330 wide-body aircraft into service progressively. A change of personnel is thus necessary to ensure that our flight operation will maintain a high standard with the new aircraft type. As a consequence, the Company will release 6 Captains and 4 First Officers today.

Its alliance Hong Kong Express Airways Limited will be increasing its fleet of B737-800 to 8 aircraft by the middle of December 2008 to better serve the traveling public in our existing regional market.

Hong Kong Airlines Launch New Crew Uniform and Meals
Press Release
10 Nov 2008

To celebrate the 2nd Anniversary of the brand, Hong Kong Airlines is introducing a series of new services and promotional offer in November.

A new look of flight attendants
Starting 31st October, 2008, all flight attendants of Hong Kong Airlines have put on a new uniform. The gracious flight attendants will continue to provide excellent service with their new suits on.


Smiling faces of Hong Kong Airlines flight attendants with their new suits on.

New Taste & Good Health
Imperatae Cane Drink will be served as welcome drinks in business class this winter. The drink is provided by Hung Fook Tong, a leading herbal tea chain in Hong Kong. The warm sugarcane juice contains various Amino Acid which helps quenching drynes and thirst. Imperative cane is good for eliminating heat, poison and activating fluid generation, which is a best choice for health conscious people.


Imperatae Cane Drink will be served as welcome drinks in business class this winter.

From now on, a new choice of Healthy Meals will be added to the Business Class meal and available as a special meal selection for Economy Class passengers. Below are some of the newly available hot meals:

* Grilled Salmon Steak with Gremolata Sauce
* Steamed Dory Fish with Lemon Grass Broth
* Steamed Dory Fish in Light Soya Sauce
* Steamed Dory Fish with Beancurd and Straw Mushroom



All these Healthy Meals are light, non-greasy and are low-calorie. Each of the above meal is available on a rotation basis bi-weekly. Economy Class passengers can place an order 24 hours before flight.

Source : http://s206.photobucket.com/albums/bb67/fly2700/

Airline under fire over sackings
25 November 2008
South China Morning Post

Hong Kong Airlines is firing employees it accuses of unsatisfactory performance but is refusing to supply evidence to back its claims, former workers say.

The Confederation of Trade Unions said former Hong Kong Airlines flight attendants sought union help after 40 employees had been fired.

The company had fired one to three employees nearly every day this month, a former flight attendant said.

"The airline company has been sacking flight attendants in the past few months, saying these employees' performance has been unsatisfactory," one of the former flight attendants, identified only as Ms Lau and who appeared masked at a union press conference, said yesterday. "When the workers asked the airline company to provide evidence to prove their work performance had not been up to standard, the company failed to do so."

Ms Lau, who worked for the airline for more than two years, was laid off on November 14.

"The affected employees now have a hard time finding jobs, as their records don't look good with the company stating they were sacked due to poor performance," she said.

"As far as we know about 20 pilots and 20 flight attendants have been sacked. Of the 11 former Oasis employees the company recruited in May, nine were sacked, leaving one pregnant employee and another one who earlier was injured at work remaining," Ms Lau said.

Repeated attempts to contact Hong Kong Airlines were unsuccessful. However, Ng To-wing, for the company, told Cable TV in a phone interview yesterday that Hong Kong Airlines needed to cut down manpower, as business had dropped by 10 to 15 per cent with the economic downturn and because of a seasonal business low.

Mr Ng said it was also difficult to say if there would be further lay-offs at this stage and the company would make a decision depending on market conditions.

Chan Po-choi, general secretary of the Staff and Workers Union of Hong Kong Civil Airlines, said his union had received similar complaints. He said the employees were in fear now, as they were worried that they might lose their jobs.

Pilots fired for trying takeoff on taxiway
Airline sacks crew after probe of error
14 December 2008
South China Morning Post

Two pilots have been sacked from Hong Kong Airlines after trying to take off from a taxiway rather than a runway at Chek Lap Kok in a Boeing plane carrying 122 passengers and seven crew three months ago.

An air traffic controller raised the alarm when he saw the Boeing 737, bound for Cheongju in South Korea, speeding along the taxiway and alerted the Indonesian captain and his Argentinian co-pilot in time for them to abort the takeoff.

Taxiways at Chek Lap Kok run the length of the runways but are narrower, have distinctive green lighting and, unlike runways, no lights down the centre.

A Civil Aviation Department report issued following the incident recommends that the airline improve its standard operating procedures and place more emphasis on crew training to "enhance flight crew situation awareness and alertness". It also recommends improvements to taxiway lighting and ground marking systems at Chek Lap Kok.

Captain Indra Santrianto and his first officer, Diego Martin Chiadria, were dismissed after the department held an investigation into how their plane set off down a taxiway for takeoff in the early hours of September 13.

Mr Indra told management that he was merely travelling at speed on a taxiway on his way to the north runway and argued that air traffic controllers may have mistaken his approach for an attempted takeoff.

However, the investigation concluded that the pilot was attempting a takeoff and said the incident was caused by "the temporary loss of situation awareness" on the part of the flight crew.

A spokeswoman for the department said the report had been circulated to the airline and the Airport Authority, and follow-up action was being taken.

The authority confirmed it had received the report and said it would act on the recommendations.

Hong Kong Airlines spokesman Alex Au confirmed that the two pilots had been dismissed, but declined to say if they had been sacked as a result of the report or the airline's own investigation into the incident.

"It is a fair report," Mr Au said. "We have already released the two pilots and we are implementing the recommendations that the department made regarding procedures."

Seven-year-old Hong Kong Airlines, which with sister airline Hong Kong Express flies to 30 cities across Asia, has been mired in controversy since firing a number of senior expatriate pilots early this year.

Some pilots claim the sacked crew have been replaced by less-experienced officers hired from overseas on lower salaries, and say the September incident is a symptom of deep-rooted internal problems.

John Findlay, general secretary of the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association, said yesterday: "The number of highly qualified pilots who have been terminated for no apparently justifiable reason is alarming."

Mr Au said allegations that the September incident indicated general poor standards at the airline were "grossly unfair and inappropriate".

港 航 、 快 運 　 欠 機 管 局 5000 萬
涉 飛 機 停 泊 及 起 降 費
2009-02-04


港 航 （ 圖 ） 及 何 鴻 燊 為 創 始 股 東 的 快 運 ， 一 直 欠 機 管 局 停 泊 及 起 降 費 。 　 資 料 圖 片

【本 報 訊 】 市 場 消 息 透 露 ， 內 地 海 南 航 空 持 有 主 要 股 權 的 香 港 航 空 及 香 港 快 運 ， 一 直拖 欠 機 場 管 理 局 飛 機 停 泊 及 起 降 費 ， 涉 資 約 5000 萬 元 ， 雖 然 機 管 局 與 兩 家 航 空 公司 去 年 達 成 分 期 還 款 安 排 ， 但 欠 款 斷 斷 續 續 維 持 此 數 ， 以 金 額 計 ， 是 拖 欠 機 管 局 最多 機 場 收 費 的 航 空 公 司 。 市 場 亦 關 注 機 管 局 最 終 需 否 為 這 筆 欠 款 進 行 撥 備 。 　 記 者： 高 淑 嫻

機場 收 費 是 機 管 局 主 要 收 入 來 源 ， 08 年 度 佔 總 收 入 36% ， 達 30.7 億 元 ， 其 次 是 零 售特 許 經 營 權 收 益 。 市 場 消 息 表 示 ， 香 港 航 空 未 獲 海 航 入 股 之 前 ， 一 直 有 拖 欠 機 場 收費 ， 海 航 06 年 先 後 入 股 港 航 及 快 運 後 ， 仍 然 未 能 扭 轉 虧 蝕 情 況 ， 加 上 去 年 經 濟 環境 逆 轉 ， 市 場 需 求 急 跌 ， 直 接 影 響 兩 家 航 空 公 司 的 收 入 ， 令 欠 費 情 況 惡 化 。

機 管 局 恐 需 撥 備

許 漢 忠 曾 接 觸 兩 家 航 空 公 司 高 層 ， 並 達 成 分 期 還 款 安 排 。 　 資 料 圖 片

據悉 ， 兩 家 公 司 去 年 拖 欠 機 管 局 約 5000 萬 元 機 場 費 ， 行 政 總 裁 許 漢 忠 曾 經 主 動 接 觸兩 家 公 司 的 高 層 ， 雙 方 亦 達 成 分 期 還 款 安 排 ， 機 管 局 容 許 兩 家 航 空 公 司 逐 少 還 款 ，原 因 之 一 是 不 想 收 數 不 成 ， 變 成 壞 賬 ， 此 外 ， 兩 家 航 空 公 司 算 是 機 管 局 「 客 仔 」 ，機 管 局 並 無 理 由 一 下 子 搞 壞 雙 方 關 係 。
其 實 ， 海 航 亦 有 拖 欠 內 地 機 場 的 機 場費 。 中 國 民 用 機 場 協 會 去 年 底 公 佈 各 航 空 公 司 的 欠 費 清 單 ， 統 計 24 個 機 場 的 欠 費數 據 ， 截 至 去 年 3 月 ， 應 收 未 付 賬 款 是 5.1 億 元 人 民 幣 ， 其 中 海 航 欠 1.02 億 元 人民 幣 。 截 至 去 年 10 月 ， 內 地 29 家 航 空 公 司 拖 欠 機 場 費 高 達 42 億 元 人 民 幣 ， 成 為司 空 見 慣 的 事 。

顧 問 張 憲 林 傳 已 離 職

另外 ， 消 息 人 士 表 示 ， 海 航 07 年 特 意 聘 請 中 國 國 際 航 空 （ 753 ） 母 公 司 中 航 集 團 前董 事 張 憲 林 過 檔 ， 擔 任 顧 問 ， 主 力 協 調 港 航 及 快 運 的 運 作 及 業 務 策 略 ， 未 知 是 否 因為 一 年 下 來 沒 有 顯 著 成 績 ， 加 上 金 融 海 嘯 殺 到 ， 兩 家 公 司 去 年 底 開 始 陸 續 縮 減 人 手及 航 線 ， 改 變 發 展 策 略 ， 張 憲 林 已 於 本 周 一 離 職 。
兩 家 公 司 自 去 年 10 月 至 今 年 1 月 累 計 裁 減 90 名 員 工 ， 包 括 機 師 及 空 中 服 務 員 。 賭 王 何 鴻 燊 雖 是 快 運 創 始 股 東 ， 但 似 是 被 動 投 資 者 。

Hong Kong Airlines charts course to Europe
23 May 2009
South China Morning Post

Hong Kong Airlines, a subsidiary of HNA Group, planned to develop long-haul routes to European destinations in the next six months despite the current downturn in air traffic, its president said yesterday.

The airline plans to take delivery of five aircraft in the next year - three Airbus 330s and two A320s.

"We have adopted several measures to streamline the company and improve the operations through marketing enhancement, and we need to further develop in the next six months," airline president Yang Jianhong said during the opening ceremony of an aircraft hangar at Chek Lap Kok airport.

Losses at Hong Kong Airlines and sister company Hong Kong Express Airways had been sharply reduced, falling 75 per cent in the first four months from the same period last year, Mr Yang said.

This had been achieved through laying off pilots and cabin crew and reducing capacity by 30 to 40 per cent this year. However, Mr Yang did not provide any financial figures.

"Things are unlikely to turn around this year, but it could be possible next year," he said.

Mr Yang confirmed reports that Hong Kong Airlines and Hong Kong Express, both partially owned by HNA, were considering a merger.

Hong Kong Airlines, which operates eight Boeing 737-800 aircraft, and Hong Kong Express, which has six B737-800s, fly to about 20 destinations through code-sharing programmes.

Their combined network covers Beijing, Shanghai, Xiamen, Bangkok, Phuket and Okinawa.

Mr Yang denied reports that casino mogul Stanley Ho Hung-sun planned to offload his 25 per cent stake in Hong Kong Express.