Airlines
Hong Kong Airlines orders nine A330s and HNA Group is set to acquire Gate Gourmet Hong Kong
September 23rd 2016
HNA Group’s Hong Kong offshoot, Hong Kong Airlines, last Friday confirmed a top-up order for nine A330-300s with Airbus. Read More » "Today's announcement underscores our plan to operate an extensive regional network in Asia," said Zhang Kui, president of Hong Kong Airlines.
Earlier today, it announced it would launch a daily A330 service between Hong Kong and Seoul Incheon. It also will increase its frequency to Australia’s Gold Coast/Cairns route to five times a week from December 9 and to daily during Chinese New Year 2017. The full service carrier also will expand its flights from Hong Kong to Auckland from daily to ten times a week from December 10.
Hong Kong Airlines operates an all-Airbus fleet of eleven A320s and 22 A330s, including five A330Fs. By year end 2018, its fleet will be above 50 as a result of the delivery of its first 15-on-order A350-900s.
Separately, Orient Aviation understands the HNA Group is in advanced talks to acquire Gate Gourmet Hong Kong Ltd.
The HNA subsidiary is looking to move its headquarters into Hong Kong International Airport’s recently opened Midfield Concourse (MFC), hoping to streamline its operations and facilitate the opening of its Bauhinia Lounge at MFC in November.
Elsewhere in Greater China, Hongkong Jet, the local business aviation unit of China’s HNA Group, has been barred from operating on the Mainland for three years, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) announced on Sunday because of “suspected” violation of flight-plan regulations during an “important state-level event”.
Hongkong Jet said the flight plan in question had been forwarded to the company by its client, and that it had not knowingly participated in any false declaration in the plan. The firm has two A319CJs, an A318CJ, a VIP-configured A330-200, as well as 24 smaller business jets.
