This week: Thai AirAsia is adding its first flight to China from Chiang Rai; HK Express to resume Okinawa; and Turkish Airlines plans to introduce additional service to Azerbaijan.
Cathay Pacific is set to enter the low-cost market after striking a deal to buy HK Express, Hong Kong’s only budget carrier. If completed, the deal would take the Oneworld member’s share of departure seats from Hong Kong to more than 50 percent.
Hong Kong-based low-cost carrier HK Express' Stephen Milstrey speaks to Routesonline about the challenges of building a route network from one of the most slot-constrained airports in the world. He also explains why destinations need to change their thinking when it comes to airline incentive programmes.
This week: HK Express is resuming service to Thailand’s capital city Bangkok and Avianca Argentina is to open a new international service to Sao Paulo in Brazil.
The panel at the World Routes Tourism Summit, moderated by Alfredo Gonzalez, vice president of sales and global development, Visit Florida, highlighted the need for collaboration between aviation and tourism.
The recently-announced HK Express flights to Guam and Saipan will further stimulate the US territory island after a number of other recent breakthrough routes, according to Nigel Mayes of ASM.
Taking place on Monday 26 September, the World Routes Tourism Summit will provide delegates with an insight into the current state of the tourism industry.
Routes Asia has opened in Manila, Philippines with renewed calls for regulators and airports to address infrastructure issues in the region with senior executives of some of the region’s fastest-growing airlines highlighting it as one of the biggest issues still impacting growth and development in the region.
Hong Kong-based HK Express is taking a leading role in the formation of the new U-FLY low-cost carrier grouping, which it describes as a game-changer for the airline industry and which will work to make travel more affordable and accessible than ever before. It will be joined by Kunming-based Lucky Air, Urumqi-based Urumqi Air and Chongqing-based West Air and others could follow in the future.
With almost ten years of experience in the aviation business, the carrier, part of the HNA Group and a sister operation to Hainan Airlines and Hong Kong Airlines, has been reinvented to better meet the demands of the local market and enable the group to better compete in the emerging low-cost sector in Hong Kong, a market served by 17 other low-cost carriers.
HK Express has announced a number of service increases on operations across both Japan and Korea during the summer 2015 season, as well as a new service to China.
The route to the vibrant South-Central Coast of Vietnam will commence from April 1, 2015 and will be operated on a three times weekly basis with flights on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. This will be the only low-cost link between Hong Kong and Đà Nẵng which is becoming increasingly popular as an alternate leisure destination for travellers.
