The chief executive of Hong Kong Airlines (HX, Hong Kong International) has told Bloomberg he wants to acquire at least three used B787s to resume flights to North America next year. Sun Jianfeng said the carrier was eyeing routes to Seattle Tacoma International, Los Angeles International, Vancouver International, and Toronto Pearson. The HNA Group-owned airline formerly flew to Los Angeles and San Francisco using A350-900s but axed them in 2020.
The carrier's previous loss-making long-haul operations played a role in its financial near-death experience that predated but was exacerbated by Covid-19. In 2022, it undertook a court-supervised reorganisation that involved a restructuring of USD6.3 billion of debt, a slashing of its network, and the return of dozens of aircraft, including the A350s used to fly to North America.
Post-pandemic, Hong Kong Airlines now flies to 32 airports in 11 countries, relying on a fleet of twelve A320-200s, one A321-200, five A330-200s, and ten A330-300s. However, according to the ch-aviation fleets module, all of the A330-200s and two of the A330-300s are currently out of service. Pre-Covid, the carrier operated around 50 aircraft.
More recently, as Hong Kong reopened for business and traffic at the territory's airport picked up again, Hong Kong Airlines pivoted towards growth. In September 2023, it returned its last A350-900 to lessor ALAFCO, and in May 2024 it took delivery of the A321-200, on lease from AerCap. At around the same time, Sun told local outlets the airline intended to take delivery of eight aircraft over 2024 and a similar number each year for the foreseeable future. He said the restructuring had concluded and the carrier was making money.
Hong Kong Airlines' network now includes mainland China, Thailand, Viet Nam, Indonesia, Japan, the Maldives, South Korea, Taiwan, Laos, and the Northern Marianas. Last week, it announced it would operate a short season of scheduled flights to Gold Coast Coolangatta, Australia in early 2025 using A330 equipment. "The route launch will mark our first step back into the long-haul market as we are gradually introducing more aircraft to support the expansion of our route network," said Sun in an accompanying media statement. "This includes actively exploring a return to the North American market."
