Hong Kong Airlines (HKA) is to add three more Airbus A330s in the coming months – its first significant fleet expansion after it went through restructuring – amid “unprecedented pent-up” travel demand.
The airline added the first A330 in June, deploying it on flights to Bangkok from 21 June. Two more A330s are expected to join during the peak summer travel period, the airline adds, allowing it to up-gauge operations to major cities in Asia, including to Shanghai, Tokyo and Taipei.
The additional A330s seat up to 292 passengers in a two-class configuration. According to Cirium fleets data, the airline, linked to China’s HNA Group, currently has four in-service A330-300s.
HKA chairman Hou Wei says ticket sales during the Dragon Boat Festival holidays in June were encouraging.
“[Our] profitability has significantly improved, and it also demonstrates our flight resumption efforts this year continue to gain traction. We will accelerate the recovery of flights and expand the coverage of our flight destination network,” adds Hou.
The carrier has in recent months been recovering its international network. It started flights to Phuket and Chongqing in June, and is set to resume flights to Sanya in Mainland China, as well as to Nagoya in July.
HKA had in mid-December 2022 secured court approval to restructure its debt, after more than three years of financial and operational woes.
