Hong Kong Express Airways Limited (), commonly known as Hong Kong Express or HK Express, is a Hong Kong–based
low-cost airline
A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (occasionally referred to as '' no-frills'', ''budget'' or '' discount carrier'' or ''airline'', and abbreviated as ''LCC'') is an airline that is operated with an especially high emphasis on minimizing op ...
fully owned by
Cathay Pacific Airways
Cathay Pacific Airways Limited (CPA), more widely known as Cathay Pacific (), is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main hub located at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline's operations and subsidiaries have s ...
.
It provides scheduled air service to 27 destinations in Asia, including
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
, China, Japan, South Korea, the
Northern Mariana Islands
The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI; ch, Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas; cal, Commonwealth Téél Falúw kka Efáng llól Marianas), is an unincorporated territory and commonw ...
, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. The airline's main
hub at
Hong Kong International Airport
Hong Kong International Airport is Hong Kong's main airport, built on reclaimed land on the island of Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong. The airport is also referred to as Chek Lap Kok International Airport or ''Chek Lap Kok Airport'', to distinguish ...
uses a fleet that consists exclusively of the
Airbus A320 family
The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus.
The A320 was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France.
The first member of the famil ...
. The company slogan is ''Your Move''.
The head office of HK Express is located in Cathay House, 11 Tung Fai Road, Hong Kong International Airport, Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong.
History
2004–2006: Founding
Hong Kong Express Airways Limited was incorporated on 10 March 2004, with the former Chinese name (), added on 21 April 2004. The airline was owned by
Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
casino entrepreneur
Stanley Ho
Stanley Ho Hung-sun (; 25 November 192126 May 2020) was a Hong Kong-Macau billionaire businessman. His original patrilineal surname was Bosman, which was later sinicized to 何 (Ho). He was the founder and chairman of SJM Holdings, which owns ...
.
In July 2004,
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
's
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
operator Heli Hong Kong officially announced plans to commence fixed-wing operation via Hong Kong Express, to become Hong Kong's fourth passenger airline. It was planning to introduce regional jet services to secondary cities in
mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
and was in negotiations with
Bombardier and
Embraer
Embraer S.A. () is a Brazilian multinational aerospace manufacturer that produces commercial, military, executive and agricultural aircraft, and provides aeronautical services. It was founded in 1969 in São José dos Campos, São Paulo, where i ...
for the lease of several 50- or 70-seat regional jets. In April 2005, the airline was granted permission to transport passengers, cargo and mail from Hong Kong to selected destinations in China and permitted to apply for traffic rights to serve 15 Chinese cities. The next month, it received approval to operate scheduled air services to five cities in China, including
Chongqing
Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...
,
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
,
Hangzhou
Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...
,
Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
and
Ningbo
Ningbo (; Ningbonese: ''gnin² poq⁷'' , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly romanized as Ningpo, is a major sub-provincial city in northeast Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises 6 urban districts, 2 sate ...
.
The airline had its
Air Operator's Certificate
An air operator's certificate (AOC) is the approval granted by a civil aviation authority (CAA) to an aircraft operator to allow it to use aircraft for commercial purposes. This requires the operator to have personnel, assets, and system in pla ...
varied in July 2005 for the operation of
Embraer 170
The Embraer E-Jet family is a series of four-abreast narrow-body short- to medium-range twin-engine jet airliners designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer.
The E-Jet was designed as a complement to the preceding E ...
aircraft.
The same month, it took delivery of its first of four 76-seat twin-jet Embraer 170, leased from
General Electric Commercial Aviation Services
GECAS (GE Capital Aviation Services) was an Irish–American commercial aviation financing and leasing company. AerCap acquired the company from GE Capital on November 1, 2021.
GECAS was the largest commercial airline leasing/financing company in ...
(GECAS), and became the Asian launch operator of this regional jet. Two more aircraft were delivered in 2005, with the remaining delivered in May 2006.
The airline's initial use of its first Embraer 170 was on charter services to
Taichung
Taichung (, Wade–Giles: ''Tʻai²-chung¹'', pinyin: ''Táizhōng''), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality located in central Taiwan. Taichung has approximately 2.8 million residents and is the second most populous city of Taiw ...
,
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, on 3 September 2005.
The first scheduled passenger services began to Guangzhou on 8 September 2005, with services to Hangzhou and Ningbo following in October 2005 and December 2005, respectively.
[ On 19 November 2005, Hong Kong Air Transport Licensing Authority (ATLA) granted the airline additional licences to operate scheduled services to 16 destinations in mainland China, as well as ]Koh Samui
Ko Samui (or Koh Samui, also often locally shortened to Samui; th, เกาะสมุย, ) is an island off the east coast of Thailand. Geographically in the Chumphon Archipelago, it is part of Surat Thani Province, though as of 2012, Ko ...
, Okinawa
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city ...
, Siem Reap
Siem Reap ( km, សៀមរាប, ) is the second-largest city of Cambodia, as well as the capital and largest city of Siem Reap Province in northwestern Cambodia.
Siem Reap has French colonial and Chinese-style architecture in the Old F ...
and Taichung
Taichung (, Wade–Giles: ''Tʻai²-chung¹'', pinyin: ''Táizhōng''), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality located in central Taiwan. Taichung has approximately 2.8 million residents and is the second most populous city of Taiw ...
. Scheduled passenger services to Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai (, from th, เชียงใหม่ , nod, , เจียงใหม่ ), sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the second largest city in ...
and Chongqing were inaugurated on 22 June 2006 and 31 July 2006, respectively.
2006–2013: Acquired by HNA and expansion
On 3 August 2006, HNA Group, the parent company of Hainan Airlines
Hainan Airlines Co., Ltd. (HNA, ) is an airline headquartered in Haikou, Hainan, People's Republic of China. The airline is rated as a 5-star airline by Skytrax. It is the largest civilian-run and majority state-owned air transport company, ma ...
, announced a finalised agreement to acquire a 45 percent stake in Hong Kong Express; this followed an earlier purchase of a 45 percent holdings in CR Airways in June. Under the terms of the agreement, the airline would remain a Hong Kong registered airline and there would be no changes to the current operations. Analysts said that the HNA Group had the weakest international network amongst all the mainland airlines. By purchasing both Hong Kong Express and CR Airways, it would enable Hainan Airlines to expand internationally via its junior partners from Hong Kong.
On 23 January 2008, the airline was the third Hong Kong carrier permitted by the Civil Aviation Department
A civil aviation authority (CAA) is a national or supranational statutory authority that oversees the regulation of civil aviation, including the maintenance of an aircraft register.
Role
Due to the inherent dangers in the use of flight vehicles ...
to operate flights to and from Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
and Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
. To facilitate the expansion, it announced that six Boeing 737-800 would be added to its fleet before the end of the year.
2013–2019: Low-cost carrier transformation
On 26 June 2013, Hong Kong Express announced its intention to transform into a low-cost carrier (LCC), and renamed to "HK Express", under the direction of the deputy CEO Andrew Cowen. Hong Kong Express' first flights as a LCC commenced 27 October 2013, to five destinations in Asia. The airline has since added routes to Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
, Penang
Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...
, Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...
, Fukuoka
is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...
, Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
and Busan
Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...
. There are plans for the airline's fleet to increase by five Airbus A320 in 2014, taking the total number of aircraft to 11 within the year and with a longer-term aim of having over 30 Airbus A320 by 2018.
On 19 July 2017, during the annual Hong Kong Book Fair
The Hong Kong Book Fair () is a book fair organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, held annually (usually in the middle of July) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, selling and exhibiting books, printed matter, ...
, HK Express launch an activities planning service known as U-Explore in collaboration with Hong Kong-based travel activities booking platform, Klook.
On 9 November 2017, HK Express was banned by the Civil Aviation Department
A civil aviation authority (CAA) is a national or supranational statutory authority that oversees the regulation of civil aviation, including the maintenance of an aircraft register.
Role
Due to the inherent dangers in the use of flight vehicles ...
from adding new flights, routes or aircraft until 30 April 2018. This followed the cancellation of 18 flights to Osaka, Nagoya and Seoul during National Day Golden Week that year, affecting about 2,000 passengers. However, the delivery of four new aircraft was later permitted, provided they were used on existing routes only.
2019–present: Acquisition by Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific Airways Limited (CPA), more widely known as Cathay Pacific (), is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main hub located at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline's operations and subsidiaries have sc ...
executives confirmed in late February 2019 that it was in "active discussions" about its interest of a full or partial takeover of HK Express from current owner HNA Group
HNA Group Co., Ltd., is a Chinese conglomerate headquartered in Haikou, Hainan, China. Founded in 2000, it was involved in numerous industries including aviation, real estate, financial services, tourism, logistics, and more. It is a part owner ...
, although an agreement had yet to be reached at the time.
On 25 March 2019, the ''South China Morning Post
The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remained ...
'' reported that Cathay Pacific had agreed to buy the airline.
On 27 March 2019, Cathay Pacific agreed to take over HK Express for HK$4.93 billion (US$628 million), with the transaction to close by the end of 2019. At the time, HK Express operated 23 Airbus A320
The Airbus A320 family is a series of Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus.
The A320 was launched in March 1984, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air F ...
aircraft on 25 routes from Hong Kong to Japan and Southeast Asia with a net asset
In financial accountancy, financial accounting, an asset is any resource owned or controlled by a business or an economic entity. It is anything (tangible or intangible) that can be used to produce positive economic value. Assets represent value ...
value of HK$1.12 billion, while the airline recorded a profit of HK$60 million in 2017, but recorded a loss of HK$141 million in 2018. The acquisition will be paid with HK$2.25 billion in cash and HK$2.68 billion in promissory loan notes, and HK Express will subsequently withdraw from U-FLY Alliance
U-FLY Alliance () is a regional airline alliance based in the Chinese Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong, and made up of low-cost airlines from Hong Kong, Mainland China, and South Korea. Upon founding, it became the world's first allianc ...
. By the time the acquisition transaction is completed, HK Express will become Cathay Pacific's wholly owned subsidiary. Following the acquisition, Cathay Pacific has stated that it intends to continue the operation of HK Express as a stand-alone low-cost carrier separate from its existing full-service operations.
However, according to the announcement, a firm of solicitors acting for a shareholder of an intermediate holding company of HK Express, has contested the seller's entry into an agreement for the transaction. It also states that Cathay Pacific has the right to terminate the share purchase if proceedings are commenced to prevent the transaction. The contesting party is widely believed to be the chairman and the major shareholder of HK Express, Zhong Guosong, who has clarified that he has no intention to sell the company and will potentially launch legal action regarding the sale.
On 19 July 2019, Cathay Pacific announced the acquisition of Hong Kong Express Airways had been completed. HK Express is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Cathay Pacific. However, HK Express will continue to operate as a low-cost carrier stand-alone airline.
Impact of COVID-19
HK Express suspended all flight operations from 23 March to 30 April 2020 due to reduced demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
Corporate affairs
The current head office in the Cathay Dragon House at Hong Kong International Airport
Hong Kong International Airport is Hong Kong's main airport, built on reclaimed land on the island of Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong. The airport is also referred to as Chek Lap Kok International Airport or ''Chek Lap Kok Airport'', to distinguish ...
in Chek Lap Kok
Chek Lap Kok is an island in the western waters of Hong Kong's New Territories. Unlike the smaller Lam Chau, it was only partially leveled when it was assimilated via land reclamation into the island for the current Hong Kong International ...
.
The head office of HK Express was previously located at One Citygate
Citygate () is a commercial complex at the town centre of Tung Chung, Lantau Island, Hong Kong. It comprises a shopping centre called Citygate Outlets, an office tower, and the Novotel Citygate hotel.
When it first opened for business in 2000, ...
in Tung Chung
Tung Chung, meaning " eastern stream", is an area on the northwestern coast of Lantau Island, Hong Kong. One of the most recent new towns, it was formerly a rural fishing village beside Tung Chung Bay, and along the delta and lower courses of T ...
, Lantau
Lantau Island (also Lantao Island, Lan Tao) is the largest island in Hong Kong, located West of Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula, and is part of the New Territories. Administratively, most of Lantau Island is part of the Islands Dis ...
.
Senior leadership
* ''Chairman:'' Ronald Lam (since August 2019)
* ''Chief Executive:'' Mandy Ng (since August 2019)
List of former chairmen
# Stanley Ho
Stanley Ho Hung-sun (; 25 November 192126 May 2020) was a Hong Kong-Macau billionaire businessman. His original patrilineal surname was Bosman, which was later sinicized to 何 (Ho). He was the founder and chairman of SJM Holdings, which owns ...
(2004–2007)
# Ronnie Choi (2007–2008)
# Yang Jianhong (2008–2013)
# Ma Zhi-min, Jimmy (2014–2017)
# Zhong Guosong (2017–2019)
# Rupert Hogg (2019)
List of former chief executives
# Andrew Tse (2004–2007)
# Kalid Razack (2007–2015)
# Andrew Cowen (2015–2017)
# Li Dianchun (2017–2018)
# Luo Cheng (2018–2019)
# Ronald Lam (2019)
Destinations
These destinations are currently served by HK Express.
Fleet
, the HK Express fleet consists of the following aircraft:
Former fleet
HK Express has previously operated the following aircraft:
*Boeing 737-800
The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG, or 737 Next Gen, is a narrow-body aircraft powered by two jet engines and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third generation derivative of the Boein ...
(have 8-seat business class)
*Embraer 170
The Embraer E-Jet family is a series of four-abreast narrow-body short- to medium-range twin-engine jet airliners designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer.
The E-Jet was designed as a complement to the preceding E ...
Livery
Original livery
The original livery features a white fuselage with a blue engine and wingtip. The words "Hong Kong Express" are painted under the windows, with its former name "" at the rear door.
Second livery
The second livery features the standard HNA Group Airline livery, almost identical with the livery of Hong Kong Airlines, with the golden bauhinia design on its logo. The only difference is the word "Express" in block letters painted under the windows.
Current livery
The current livery of Hong Kong Express is followed by the logo redesign of the airline. It features a white fuselage with a purple and red theme, and has a Hong Kong city silhouette in purple on the tail.
Loyalty programme
On 14 April 2016, Hong Kong Express launched a loyalty programme named "Reward-U". Flights and gifts can be redeemed on the official website. The programme is free to join, only individuals two years old or above can join the programme. Each eligible Hong Kong Dollar spend earns ten points, but U-Biz passengers can earn 20 points per dollar spent. At most five members can form a reward-U crew to consolidate the points. Reward-U officially ceased its operations on 31 December 2019, merging with AsiaMiles.
Controversies
Sudden flight cancellation
On 29 September 2017, HK Express suddenly cancelled 18 flights to Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...
, Nagoya
is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...
and Incheon
Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...
on 1 and 8 October without any notice. Because the flights cancelled covered the National Day of China and Mid-Autumn Festival holidays, 2,070 passengers were affected. HK Express felt extremely sorry for the inconvenience caused, and proposed a series of alternative solutions for the affected passengers, like travelling on another airline, changing travel dates, changing destination and a full refund. The Civil Aviation Department was unsatisfied by the behaviour of HK Express, and required the airline to submit a detailed report regarding the causes, short-term and long-term solutions to the incidents.
Inappropriate promotion methods
In July 2018, HK Express was found posting advertisements under street signposts, with QR code
A QR code (an initialism for quick response code) is a type of matrix barcode (or two-dimensional barcode) invented in 1994 by the Japanese company Denso Wave. A barcode is a machine-readable optical label that can contain information about th ...
s available for citizens to scan to get information and participate in games to win prizes. The advertisements did not show the airline's name nor its logo; however, names of Japanese places were shown. District council members said that these materials might cause chaos and mislead citizens, due to the fact that Highways Department strictly prohibits organisations from posting anything on their signposts. HK Express apologised for organising this activity, stopped the activity on 18 July 2018, and removed the advertisements.
See also
*List of airlines of Hong Kong
This is a list of airlines which have a current Air Operator's Certificate issued by the Hong Kong Director-General of Civil Aviation ( Traditional ), and for which oversight as recognised by the ICAO lies with the Civil Aviation Department. For ...
*List of companies of Hong Kong
Hong Kong is an autonomous territory of the People's Republic of China on the Pearl River Delta of East Asia. Hong Kong is one of the world's most significant financial centres, with the highest Financial Development Index score and consisten ...
*Transport in Hong Kong
Hong Kong has a highly developed and sophisticated transport network, encompassing both public and private transport. Based on Hong Kong Government's Travel Characteristics Survey, over 90% of the daily journeys are on public transport, the h ...
References
External links
*
HK Express Holidays website
{{IATA members, china
Airlines established in 2004
Airlines of Hong Kong
Hong Kong brands
Swire Group
U-FLY Alliance
Low-cost carriers
2004 establishments in Hong Kong