Showing posts with label Hong Kong Airlines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hong Kong Airlines. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Hong Kong Air Reviews Order For A380s On EU Levies

Manila Bulletin
March 6, 2012
Jasmine Wang

Hong Kong Airlines Ltd. is reviewing its order for 10 Airbus SAS A380s, partly because of Chinese opposition to Europe's introduction of an emissions levy on aviation.

"It is possible that China's purchase of Airbus planes will be affected by the carbon-emission program," Yang Jianhong, the president of Hong Kong Air, said today. "Any company has to go along with its nation policy."

  The carrier, backed by China's HNA Group, also has business reasons for re-considering its A380 plans, Yang said, without elaboration. China, home to the world's fastest growing aviation market, and countries including the US, Russia and India have opposed the EU's emissions levies because of concerns it extends the bloc's regulations beyond its border.

  Hong Kong Air ordered the A380s as it tries to break Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd.'s grip on the city's businesstravel market.The airline expects to start recieving the double-decker planes in 2015, it said earlier this year. The recent discovery of cracks in wing parts of the superjumbos operate by Singapore Airlines Ltd. and Qantas Airways Ltd. isn't a factor in Hong Kong Air's review, Yang said.

  The carier has a total of 64 Airbus aircraft on order, including 15 A350-900s and 29 A320s, based on data listed on the planemaker's website.The Toulouse, France-baseed company decline to comment in an e-mailed reply to Bloomberg News questions. Chief Executive Officer Tom Enders told reporters last month that the EU levies may spark a trade war.

  Yang said it was too early to say whether the airline would have to compensate Airbus for a canceled order as no decision had been made. The South China Morning Post reported the order review earlier today.

  The EU added aviation to its emission-trading system this year as part of a wider push to pare pollution. Overseas governments have objected as carries are charged for instance on the first leg of a flight from Asia.

  China last month banned mainland carried from providing emissions data to the Eu. The EU hopes to resolve the issue through negotiations or it may ultimately be ruled on by the courts, Markus Ederer, its ambassador to China, said at the time. Hong Kong airlines are regulated by the city's authorities rather than the government in Beijing.

HKIA Unveils HK$2.2-B Apron Developement

Manila Bulletin
March 6, 2012

Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) has unveiled the HK$2.2-billion west apron development, which will help Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) meet its mediumterm demand for additional parking stands.

  Located at the western end of the airport island and adjacent to the midfield, the 430,000-square-metre site will be eqquiped with 16 parking stands for common use.

  A cross-runway tunnel linking the west apron to the cargo area, built during the construction of HKIA in the 1990s for future growth needs, will also be commissioned to facilitate efficient apron vehicle traffic.

  Major construction is expected to start mid-year in two phases. The first phase, which includes the construction in nine aircraft parking stands, related supporting facilities and the connection of the western airfield tunnel to the cargo area, is slated to be complete by the end of 2013.

  At the end of the second phase in end-2014, the remaining seven stands will be ready for operation.

  C K Ng, deputy director for airport operation said: "We are seeing rising demand for aircraft parking spaces due to growing air traffic, continues fleet expanssion by airlines and the introduction of new types of aircraft."

  "Currently, passenger and cargo throughput , as well as aircraft movements, have outstipped our baseline growth projections, with both passengers trips and flight movements setting new records in 2011.

  "The new parking stands at the West Apron will help accommodate the need for parking spaces in the medium term. Meanwhile, three stands that can cater for new types of aircraft with longer fuselages, such as the B747-8F freighter, have been planned at the West Apron."

  The West Apron development will accommodate HKIA's expected growth in aircraft traffic as the Civil Aviation Department gradually raises the hourly handling capacity of the airport's two runways from the current 62 flights per hour to 68 by 2015. (EHL)

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Hong Kong Airlines opens half-price luxury route to London

M & G News
Jul 6, 2011, 4:11 GMT

Hong Kong - Hong Kong Airlines Ltd was to launch an all-luxury route to London, undercutting rivals' business-class prices by more than half, a news report said Wednesday.

Three Airbus 330-200 planes equipped only with 18 first- and 98 business-class seats are to begin flying the route in March to cater to the growing number of affluent Chinese leisure travellers, the South China Morning Post reported.

A return business-class fare was to be around 20,000 Hong Kong dollars (2,564 US dollars), compared with around 51,370 Hong Kong dollars for the same trip on Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd.

'We believe traditional executive travellers in the business cabin have dropped off and will never come back to their previous level, especially from Europe and the United States,' Hong Kong Airlines spokeswoman Eva Chan was quoted as saying.

'However, the pleasure and leisure travellers from mainland China have shown a growing appetite for premium traffic in light of the growth of China's economy,' she said.

The airline, which is controlled by China's HNA Group Co Ltd airline and hotel group, said 60 to 70 per cent of its existing passengers are from China.

The carrier currently operates flights to Chinese and Asian destinations and has a single European destination, Moscow.

Five airlines currently fly between Hong Kong and London: Cathay Pacific, British Airways Plc, Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd, Qantas Airways Ltd and Air New Zealand Ltd.

'We just want to provide an affordable price for premium traffic while providing top-class service,' Chan said. 'We are not a budget airline.'