Hong Kong Airlines (HX, Hong Kong International) is set to drop an order for ten A380-800s placed with Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) in late 2011. Quoting sources close to the carrier's operations, Reuters says the carrier's decision was brought on by an order for forty A320neo and thirty A321neo placed by HNA Group sister firm, Hong Kong Aviation Capital, at the recent Farnborough International Airshow 2014.

The European manufacturer insists Hong Kong Airlines' A380 order is still valid despite its order backlog now reflecting it as going to an "undisclosed customer."

The order, which would have seen the first A380 arriving next year, has been under pressure for some time.

In mid-2012, the carrier threatened to drop the order following a European Union decision to foist a carbon-emissions taxation scheme onto international carriers. Later that year, president Yang Jianhong said his airline was considering converting five of its A380s into smaller A330s amid a sharp decline in demand for long-haul traffic at the time.