Hong Kong Airlines aggressively expanding China flights

Intends to beat larger rival, Dragonair.

Hong Kong Airlines, Ltd will significantly expand flights into mainland China, as it strives to to match or surpass full-service competitor, Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Ltd or Dragonair, on overlapping cities.

Dragonair is responding by moving to rebrand itself as “Cathay Dragon,” a proposed name that links it more firmly to its parent company, Cathay Pacific, in the minds of air travellers.

Hong Kong Airlines is trying to shake off the negative impact on its operations by restrictions on growth imposed by Hong Kong’s aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Department, in 2012

HKCAD has since lifted the restrictions, which Hong Kong Airlines has used to expand its fleet from to 22 aircraft from 20 with the addition of two Airbus A330s.

The additional aircraft comes with the airlines’ expanded service on existing routes, and the re-introduction of Hong Kong-Tokyo Narita services.

Hong Kong Airlines is a Hong Kong-based airline with its main hub and corporate head office at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline operates scheduled regional passenger and cargo services to 10 destinations within China and Vietnam, including codeshares with its sister airline, Hong Kong Express Airways.