LONDON – Hong Kong Airlines (HKA), which is part of the Chinese conglomerate HNA Group, resumed its operations to Okinawa on November 2, 2022, following a hiatus of 2 years.
Resumption
Hong Kong Airlines is resuming its operations to Japan as the COVID numbers in the country are decreasing enough that the carrier can conduct operations to Japan in a safe manner that will not put the citizens of Hong Kong or China at risk.
Hong Kong Airlines has also announced that it will resume operations on November 4. The flight frequency to both cities is expected to be increased from a three-times weekly service to a daily service from December.
Earlier this month, Hong Kong Airlines has partnered up with Hong Kong-based biotech company RAZE to launch a co-branded mask product for passengers. The special kit set that has been handed out on the first flight, also called the RAZE Sanitizing Travel Kit, featured a collection of distinctively designed RAZE x Hong Kong Airlines 3-Ply Antibacterial Masks (4 pieces), along with sanitizing spray with refill set and sanitizing wipes.
Mr. Louis Li, Vice President at Hong Kong Airlines said, “We are excited to resume direct flights to both Okinawa and Sapporo, adding these charming ports to our recovering network and offering our customers more travel options. With the anticipated increasing travel demands, we are looking to add more flights to both cities as well as other destinations we fly to.”
The flight schedule between Hong Kong and Okinawa/Sapporo is as follows:
Destination
Hong Kong – Okinawa
Hong Kong – Sapporo
Frequency
Three-times weekly, after December daily to both destinations
About Hong Kong Airlines
Hong Kong Airlines is the third airline which has been founded in Hong Kong after the region became a special administrative region of China in 1997. The airline was founded in 2001 as CR Airways and operated a fleet of a couple of Sikorsky S-76 helicopters. In 2003 the airline got a revised AOC which allowed them to operate more passengers with bigger aircraft, such as the Bombardier CRJ-200.
In 2006, CR Airways changed its name to Hong Kong Airlines after it got fully owned by the HNA Group, and replaced its older Boeing fleet with newer Airbus planes, such as the A320, A330, and A350. Its current fleet compromises of the following aircraft:
- 12 x Airbus A320-200
- 10 x Airbus A330-200
- 8 x Airbus A330-300
- 2 x Airbus A350-900
- 5 x Airbus A330-200F (for cargo and freight purposes)
Hong Kong Airlines is currently operating to over 25 destinations, some of which are cargo-only destinations, in the Asia-Pacific region, with the main focus being China, Japan, and India, albeit India has only cargo-only destinations while Japan and China are mainly passenger oriented.
Hong Kong Airlines did operate to the United States and New Zealand but decided to opt-in for flights to the more profitable Asian destinations, scrapping flights to the Gold Coast and Cairns. Matters were also complicated between 2016 and 2020, as there was an ongoing Sino-US trade conflict, which also was the final straw for flights to Vancouver.
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