Hong Kong Express Brings Forward Chengdu Launch

Posted 22/07/2011

Hong Kong Express Airlines is bringing forward the launch of its daily Hong Kong – Chengdu service by a month from September 1 to August 1 after a modification of its schedules provided the capacity for its network expansion.  The carrier will be the fourth to offer flights on the route, with Air China and Dragonair offering twice daily services and Sichuan Airlines two flights per week.

In the past year an estimated 200,000 O&D passengers travelled between Hong Kong and Chengdu, a market that has grown 6.5 per cent in the last 12 months.  Air China currently dominates the traffic (49 per cent), followed by Dragonair (38 per cent) but both have seen their share of the market decline as Sichuan Airlines has entered the market.  The latter’s growth has not impacted yields too heavily and although its own average fares have fallen marginally, both Air China and Dragonair have seen increases over the 12 month period.

The expansion of the network of Hong Kong Express is part of a wider strategy of its sister carrier Hong Kong Airlines to offer greater links within Asia and to generate further feed for an expanded long-haul offering that is expected to be announced shortly.  This is reported to include new connections to Paris and Sydney and the launch of an all-premium service to London from 2012.  

Schedule:

UO452 HKG2115 – 2340CTU 738 D
UO453 CTU0730 – 0950HKG 738 D

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