History
Hong Kong Express Airways Limited was incorporated on 10 March 2004, with the former traditional Chinese name, 港聯航空有限公司, added on 21 April 2004. The airline was owned by Macau casino entrepreneur Stanley Ho. In July 2004, Hong Kong's helicopter 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 and was in negotiations with Bombardier and Embraer 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, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing and Ningbo. The airline had its Air Operator's Certificate varied in July 2005 for the operation of Embraer 170 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), 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, Republic of China (Taiwan), on 3 September 2005; after it received approval from Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council on 30 August. Taiwanese carrier Mandarin Airlines, who also filed an application to operate the same charter flight route, was unable to gain approval from the Hong Kong Administration. It was reported that Hong Kong's refusal was because it was dissatisfied that the Taiwanese government used the charter flight route as a political campaign instrument. The first scheduled passenger services began to Guangzhou on 8 September 2005, with services to Hangzhou and Ningbo following in October and December, 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, Okinawa, Siem Reap and Taichung. Scheduled passenger services to Chiang Mai and Chongqing were inaugurated on 22 June 2006 and 31 July 2006, respectively. It was the first non-stop service between Hong Kong and northern Thailand's hot spot, Chiang Mai, with a twice weekly service on Thursdays and Sundays.
On 3 August 2006, HNA Group, the parent company of Hainan Airlines, 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 16 September 2006, the airlines announced its receipt of approval to sell a 45 percent stake to HNA Group, as well as the purchase of Boeing 737 narrowbody twin-jet aircraft. It was anticipated that it would receive the new aircraft later in 2006, while the number of aircraft ordered was yet to be confirmed.
The airline inaugurated scheduled passenger services to Chengdu on 16 November 2006. This was following by Xian in April 2007, Guiyang in July 2007, Bangkok in September 2007, and Kathmandu, Kuala Lumpur and Yangon in November 2007, in addition to the resumption of services to Nanjing on 17 July 2007. The airline took delivery of its first of seven Boeing 737-800 aircraft on 22 January 2007. The introduction of this next generation aircraft would enable the airline to extend its services beyond China to wider East Asia. The Boeing 737-800s are configured with 164 seats across two cabin classes, 8 seats in Business Class and 156 seats in Economy Class. The new aircraft was unveiled with its new brand identity in a ceremony held at Hong Kong’s Four Seasons Hotel. The new brand identity included a new look logo, aircraft livery, website, crew uniforms and a new Chinese name 香港快運航空有限公司. The new look logo consists of a contemporary and stylised representation of the mythical creature Pi Xiu.
On 23 January 2008, the airline was the third Hong Kong carrier permitted, by the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department, to operate flights to and from Beijing and Shanghai. To facilitate the expansion, it announced a further six Boeing 737-800 would be added to its fleet before the end of the year.
Read more about this topic: Hong Kong Express Airways
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