Virgin Australia has decided to drop Hong Kong services, citing the ongoing civil unrest and the recent coronavirus outbreak.
Following a “comprehensive review of the route”, the carrier will cease service on Sydney-Hong Kong from 2 March, after the previously announced suspension of Melbourne-Hong Kong from 11 February.
Cirium schedules data shows that Virgin operates daily flights for both Hong Kong routes, with Airbus A330-200s configured with 275 seats. Each service brings around 1,900 seats per week to the market.
Virgin is the smallest player in the Australia-Hong Kong market, with nearly 11% market share. Cathay Pacific operates five routes and has the largest share at 64%, followed by Qantas with three routes and 25% of total capacity.
“Current circumstances demonstrate that Hong Kong is no longer a commercially viable route for Virgin Australia to continue operating,” says Virgin Australia’s group chief commercial officer John MacLeod.
“However international tourism remains an important part of our strategy through our other international routes and partner airlines.”
