And they’re off! Hong Kong’s Greater Bay Airlines launches first flight to Osaka in drive to expand regional routes, take on competitors
- First Greater Bay Airlines flight to Osaka from Hong Kong took off on Friday morning, with return leg landing at 6pm
- Flight carrying 130 passengers, 70 per cent of its capacity, with some travellers touting airline’s competitive pricing amid recent steep plane fares
The first flight to Osaka by Hong Kong’s Greater Bay Airlines (GBA) took off on Friday as the fledgling operator sought to expand its regional routes and compete with the city’s other carriers.
HB 540, the airline’s first plane to Kansai International airport, lifted off from the airport at around 9.45am for the three-and-a-half hour flight, with a return leg at 6pm. It landed on time at the Kansai airport at about 1pm Hong Kong time.
The flight has around 130 passengers on board, more than 70 per cent of its capacity, the airline said.
The carrier will operate three flights a week to Osaka, in addition to daily services to Taipei, Tokyo and Bangkok. The low-cost carrier also flies to Seoul four times a week.
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The Post reported on Sunday that airfares remained high at up to 40 per cent more than pre-pandemic levels.
But the market newcomer has plans to entice travel-starved Hongkongers with promotions to compete with rival budget carriers HK Express and Hong Kong Airlines.
Suki Chan, 45, who works in the beauty industry and was flying with her husband and their two teenage sons, said the price and timing of the morning flights were the reason they chose to fly with the airline for the first time.
“Our first [consideration] is the price and the timing because it is suitable for our holiday,” said Matthew, Chan’s 18-year-old son.
The affordable fare also attracted mainland Chinese residents Qin Ruoyan, 25, and her boyfriend Zhang Haiyu, who had travelled from Shenzhen to catch a flight from Hong Kong since the latter offered more airline choices. The couple paid around 1,000 yuan (HK$1,300) per person, they said.
“It’s our first time with this airline and our first time to Japan. It’s very exciting,” Qin said. “The price is competitive compared to other airlines.”
The airline is among four Hong Kong carriers taking part in the “World of Winners” air giveaway of 700,000 airline tickets, organised as part of the government’s “Hello Hong Kong” campaign.
The airline tickets promotion was designed to help lure tourists to the city after it was largely cut off from the world for three years by tough pandemic restrictions.
Cathay Pacific Airways and Hong Kong Airlines have also announced plans to distribute tickets.
GBA said on its website that the first phase of giveaways will begin on flights from Seoul to Hong Kong in May, followed by Taipei to Hong Kong in July.
The carrier announced in March it had ordered 15 Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft, a major expansion on its present fleet of three Boeing 737-800s.
The first of the new airliners will be delivered next year, with the rest expected by 2027.
GBA also signed a letter of intent to buy five 787 Dreamliners, which are popular with airlines on long-haul routes.
Bill Wong Cho-bau, the GBA chairman and the tycoon behind Shenzhen-based Donghai Airlines, has pledged to invest HK$2 billion in the new company, which is stepping into a market served by Cathay Dragon before the 35-year-old regional carrier was grounded for good in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic.
But GBA has faced a string of challenges as it prepared to get off the ground, including getting its air operating certificate from the government.
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The carrier made its debut flight to Bangkok in July last year.
The airline also needs to overcome a shortage of staff, such as pilots and aircrew, to increase its flight capacity.
Hong Kong’s Air Transport Licensing Authority last year awarded the carrier a five-year permit to operate commercial flights on 104 routes, including 48 to the mainland.
Services to Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and other destinations in the Asia-Pacific region were also approved.
Japan is one of the top destinations for Hongkongers since it began to ease restrictions on foreign tourists in October last year.
There were about 3.83 million visitors to the country in 2022, the Japan National Tourism Organisation said, with Hong Kong travellers accounting for 269,300 of them.
