Hong Kong Airlines lately celebrated its 18th anniversary and unveils its strategic growth plan. This milestone marks the airline’s strong progress momentum and confidence within the Hong Kong aviation business, because it proclaims its return to the long-haul market in early 2025.
Going International: Returning to long-haul market
Firstly, Hong Kong Airlines will resume its Gold Coast direct service on 17 January 2025 (4 occasions weekly), offering passengers with handy journey choices between Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area, and the Gold Coast. It can even resume its Vancouver route on the next day, 18 January 2025 (two occasions weekly, ticket reservations can be obtainable quickly), which marks its official return to the long-haul international market. This strategic transfer signifies the airline’s transformation from a regional provider to an international airline, with a deal with increasing its world route community.
Following a profitable restructuring final yr, Hong Kong Airlines has been actively bettering its providers and increasing its enterprise. Through strategic planning, the airline has demonstrated a sturdy restoration functionality by optimising its route community and adjusting its fleet construction, which now covers greater than 30 locations.
This yr, the variety of flight sectors has totally recovered to pre-pandemic ranges, with an common passenger load issue of roughly 85%. The airline expects to achieve its annual visitors goal of carrying greater than 5 million passengers by the tip of 2024. Additionally, bookings for the Christmas and Lunar New Year interval have already reached 85%, with that for the ski resort routes in Northeast Asia reaching 90%. In response to this sturdy demand, the airline will enhance flight frequency on related routes from December.
Expands the fleet to extend carrying capability
To help its enterprise progress, Hong Kong Airlines has considerably expanded its fleet this yr, introducing a number of Airbus A330-300 wide-body plane to help medium- to long-haul routes. The airline has additionally launched its first A321 plane, configured with 220 all-economy class seats, to extend passenger capability and operational effectivity. By the tip of this yr, Hong Kong Airlines’ fleet is anticipated to develop to round 30 plane and the corporate will proceed to increase the fleet measurement as wanted to additional enhance its capability.
The diversified fleet configuration will help flight flexibility and protection, facilitating passengers with handy entry from Hong Kong to common vacationer locations in mainland China, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Australia, the United States, Canada, and Europe. In addition to working its personal routes, the airline will proceed to collaborate with companions to increase its codeshare community, present seamless sea-land-air intermodal transportation, and attempt to supply service range.
Capitalises on 3RS alternative & expands intermodal transportation in GBA
The third runway system (3RS) at Hong Kong International Airport is scheduled to totally start operations on the finish of November, which can considerably improve the airport’s throughput, optimise flight departure and arrival processes, and enhance operational effectivity and passenger expertise. Leveraging Hong Kong’s distinctive geographical benefits to, join mainland China with the remainder of the world, in addition to the chance introduced by the 3RS, Hong Kong Airlines will utilise the “airport city” infrastructure and surrounding aviation community to deepen cooperation with cities within the Greater Bay Area (GBA), and promote intermodal transportation, corresponding to seamless “air-land-air” transfers through the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, to supply passengers with a extra handy journey expertise.
Starting this winter, the airline will enhance flights to Seoul (twice every day) and Tokyo (5 occasions every day), whereas Sapporo will turn out to be a every day flight. It can even launch Sendai route in December and resume flights to the Gold Coast and Vancouver in January 2025, demonstrating its confidence within the capability of the 3RS and dedication to exploring extra potential routes to strengthen ties with Belt and Road international locations and international markets.
Active recruitment to increase the workforce
To cope with enterprise progress, Hong Kong Airlines has recruited over 600 new workers this yr, lots of whom have already crammed the frontline positions, bringing the full variety of cabin crew to greater than 1200. Looking forward, the variety of workers is anticipated to extend by 60% subsequent yr, with a 60% enhance in pilots and a 1.6-fold enhance in cabin crew. Recruitment will proceed within the native market in addition to the GBA, South Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia and past.
Enhances passenger providers for elevated journey expertise
Hong Kong Airlines is dedicated to offering passengers with secure, high-quality, and comfy flying experiences, and incorporates Hong Kong’s cultural traits into its providers. This yr, the airline has optimised its cabin and airport lounge providers to supply the finest passenger consolation doable.
To create a singular in-flight eating expertise for enterprise class passengers, the airline has partnered with Michelin really useful native restaurant, Man Yuen, in addition to Michelin starred Cantonese restaurant, Ming Court, on the Cordis Hotel, to supply beautiful Chinese inventive delicacies. To begin with, Man Yuen has been offering signature dishes since September, together with its famend Steamed Pork Mince with Anchovies, King of Stir-fried with Stir-fried Garlic Chive with Prawns and Dried Scallop Egg White Fried Rice, Braised Curry Beef Brisket with Potato and and so forth, whereas from the second half of 2025 onwards, Ming Court will launch its revolutionary fusion delicacies in Business Class, that includes dishes corresponding to Pork Rib Trio Onion, Baked, Wagyu Beef Cheek, 15-year Aged Dried Tangerine Peel, Braised. Paired with the airline’s signature “Bauhinia Blossom” welcome drink, desserts, and native model goodies, the general eating expertise has been elevated. In parallel, Corelle’s eco-friendly, light-weight, and sturdy tableware has additionally been launched to Business Class, reflecting the airline’s dedication to inexperienced and sustainability.
Meanwhile, to embody its “Very Hong Kong” model positioning, the airline gives economic system class passengers a style of Hong Kong’s distinctive specialties corresponding to “Rice with Two Sides (This This Rice)” and Nestle ice cream on chosen routes, making inflight eating a pleasure of the journey.
Furthermore, this yr, the airline has prioritised the restoration of in-flight leisure techniques on a number of A330 plane, with a few of them introducing wi-fi streaming expertise, permitting passengers to entry and revel in a variety of content material utilizing their private cell gadgets. The airline targets to totally restore full service by 2025.
Additionally, Hong Kong Airlines has reopened its VIP lounge Club Autus since 2023. Located at the Hong Kong International Airport’s midfield concourse, Club Autus is the one lounge that gives unique lounge providers, together with therapeutic massage chairs, and conventional Hong Kong-style delicacies corresponding to cart noodles, egg tarts and congee, to make passengers’ journey expertise extra stress-free and pleasing.
18th Anniversary Special Offer
To have fun its 18th anniversary, Hong Kong Airlines will launch a year-round improve service from 28 November for passengers flying on their birthday with upgrades all through their journey. Passengers flying with Hong Kong Airlines on their birthday can get pleasure from buy-one-get-one free upgrades, precedence boarding, complimentary lounge entry, and birthday shock items. Children aged 3-11 who accumulate a sure variety of flights can be invited to go to the Hong Kong Airlines Training Academy.
