- Hong Kong Airlines is gradually resuming flights to Japan, with 97% of pre-pandemic capacity restored, and plans to increase service to daily flights to Nagoya in August.
- The airline operates an all-Airbus fleet of 33 aircraft, including A320s, A330s, and an A350.
- Nagoya is an important city in Japan’s Chubu region, known for its industrial hub and connections to the automobile and manufacturing sectors. The new flight service will cater to both tourism and business travelers.
On Saturday, Hong Kong Airlines operated its inaugural flight between Hong Kong and Nagoya in Japan, which returned the airline’s Japan capacity to 97% of pre-pandemic levels. By mid-July, it will be operating 73 weekly flights to six major destinations in Japan, which is another example of how aviation is taking off in North East Asia now borders are fully reopened.
More connections between HK and Japan
Flight HX664 departed from Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) at 09:50 and, after a 3:39 hour flight, landed in Japan at Nagoya Chubu Centrair International (NGO) at 14:29. The seven-year-old Airbus A320-200, registration B-LPQ and MSN 7077 left NGO at 15:37 and arrived in Hong Kong at 18:06. Before retiring for the night the plane flew to China at 21:22, landing at Hangzhou Xiaoshan International (HGH) at 23:22.
Never an airline to miss out on celebrating major events, Hong Kong Airlines commemorated the first flight at both airports, including giving departing passengers in Hong Kong bespoke souvenir packs to mark the occasion. The A320 was also given the traditional water cannon salute on its arrival at Chubu Centrair, and gauging by the photos, a good time was had by all.
President of Hong Kong Airlines, Jeff Sun, said Nagoya is a fascinating city, conveniently located with easy connections to Japan’s eastern and western regions.
“There’s always a reason to visit Nagoya. We’re incredibly thankful to add this enchanting city to our expanding route network in Japan, and we plan to gradually increase service between Hong Kong and Nagoya from the current four times per week to daily flights starting in August. This will strengthen the connection between these two vibrant cities.”
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An all-Airbus fleet
According to fleet data from ch-aviation.com, Hong Kong Airlines has an all-Airbus fleet of 33 aircraft. It includes 12 A320-200s, 10 A330-200s, 10 A330-300s, and one A350-900, although all of the A330-200s and four of the A330-300s are listed as inactive, along with the A350 and two A320s. The A320 used on the Nagoya launch is configured in a one-class layout of 174 economy seats and was delivered new to the airline in April 2016.
Founded in 2006, Hong Kong Airlines is a full-service carrier that operates to more than 20 destinations from its base at HKG. It has interline agreements with 90 airlines and offers 16 codeshares with multiple airline partners and ferry service providers. The ferry service is an interesting option for passengers using Hong Kong International, who can arrive or leave the airport’s integrated ferry terminal for destinations around the Bay area.
Including yesterday’s launch, the airline now has 21 weekly flights to Japan’s Chubu region, which includes Nagoya. The new service will have strong demand from tourism and business travelers, particularly as Nagoya is an important industrial hub focusing on the automobile and manufacturing sectors.
The airline now connects Hong Kong to six major destinations in Japan, including the four weekly flights to Nagoya. Hong Kong Airlines also operates three daily flights to Tokyo Narita Airport (NRT) and Osaka, twice daily to Okinawa, a daily flight to Fukuoka, and three weekly flights to Sapporo. By the middle of July, the airline said it will have 73 weekly flights to Japan and, from August, will operate daily to Nagoya.
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Source: ch-aviation.com