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HONG KONG—The CEO at Hong Kong-based LCC HK Express anticipates that ongoing issues with its Pratt & Whitney-powered Airbus A320neos will continue through this year.
Speaking with Aviation Week at the headquarters of the airline, which is wholly owned by Cathay Pacific Airways but operated independently, CEO Jeanette Mao said that on average through last year, 5.6 of HK Express’ 10 A320neos were grounded because of geared turbofan (GTF) engine issues that have affected airlines worldwide.
“Like many of the carriers around the world, we have also faced the challenge of these Pratt & Whitney engines, and we do still have some of these aircraft on the ground,” she said on Jan. 27.
“For this year, I think it is still challenging,” she added. “But we are working very closely with Pratt & Whitney and hope to expedite the shop visits. But I think we expect that this situation will continue through this year.”
In addition to the 10 GTF-powered A320neos, HK Express has six A320ceos, 13 A321ceos and 12 A321neos that are all powered by CFM engines, with which Mao said there have been no issues. The A321neos are powered by CFM Leap engines and, at 236 seats, are the largest in HK Express’ all-Airbus narrowbody fleet.
HK Express posted a HKD73 million ($9 million) loss for the fiscal first half of 2024, against a HKD333 million profit for the same period in 2023. Cathay Group CEO and HK Express Chair Ronald Lam attributed the loss primarily to the grounding of the A320neos.
HK Express has been growing at a rapid rate, taking delivery of one new aircraft every 40 days since March 2023 and seeing a 46% year-on-year growth, making it the world’s fastest-growing airline, according to OAG Schedules Analyser, and the second-largest Hong Kong carrier after Cathay.
The airline is just over 11 years old, so it is still young and focused on pioneering new, unique routes between the China/Hong Kong Greater Bay Area and Asia. Of the 30 new routes it has introduced, HK Express is the only LCC operating on 13 of those routes. Its average stage length is 3 hr. 9 min., and 65% of its destinations are in northeast Asia, about 30% in southeast Asia and 5% in the Chinese mainland.
“We will definitely grow China mainland, albeit from a small base, but we will double from 5%,” Mao said.
Contributing to the carrier’s ability to grow has been the opening of a third runway late last year at Hong Kong International Airport—providing HK Express a 50% increase in the number of available slots—as well as the introduction of the A321neo, with its higher capacity and lower per-seat costs. The airline is also focused this year on increasing utilization of its aircraft by 10%-15%.
“We don’t just chase growth,” Mao said. “We say we have gotta go bigger, but we also have gotta go better.”
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