Helicopter operator Heli Hong Kong is proceeding with plans to lease new 50- to 70-seat regional jet aircraft after an expanded air services agreement created more opportunities for passenger services between Hong Kong and China.
Chief executive Andrew Tse says the new China-Hong Kong air services agreement, announced last week, is "an excellent agreement and opens the skies for more services to China [because]... it allows for dual designation".
Hong Kong used to be limited to one designated carrier per route apart from Hong Kong-Beijing, but under the new agreement it can designate two carriers for each China route. About half of the 44 Chinese cities open to Hong Kong carriers are currently underserved, says Tse, who defines this as those with fewer than seven flights a week.
Heli Hong Kong said earlier this year that it planned to establish a passenger airline called Hong Kong Express, which would start with "one or two" 50- to 70-seat regional jets. Tse says the company is interested in dry-leasing new Bombardier CRJ200/700s or Embraer 170s and has been negotiating with GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS).
He says the company prefers new aircraft because they will give it "a lower unit cost over the long run because of lower maintenance costs". Hong Kong Express's first service is likely to be on the Hong Kong-Guangzhou route, says Tse. Guangzhou is the capital of Guangdong, the Chinese province bordering Hong Kong.
Tse says traffic rights to this route are readily available. He points out this route is popular with business travellers and currently no Hong Kong carriers operate to Guangzhou. China Southern Airlines has five flights a day on the route, making it the only carrier operating on this sector, says OAG. There are also regular train services between Hong Kong and Guangzhou.
Tse cannot say when Hong Kong Express will begin operations - it depends on when the carrier secures the aircraft, appropriate air operator's certificate and traffic rights.
LEITHEN FRANCIS / SINGAPORE
Source: Flight International
