Hong Kong Airlines chairman resigns amid management shakeup

The chairman of Hong Kong Airlines Ltd. resigned last week, one of several senior management changes at the recently overhauled carrier. 

Hou Wei was replaced by Zhang Youqiang, chairman of Hong Kong Air Cargo, on July 27, according to a company memo seen by Bloomberg News. Hou left after a four-year stint that covered the Covid pandemic and a HK$49 billion (US$6.3 billion) restructuring of the airline that concluded in April. 

One of few local rivals to Hong Kong’s main carrier Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., Hong Kong Airlines was struggling financially leading up to the Covid crisis. Authorities seized several planes in late 2019 after the airline missed payments, and it narrowly avoided collapse. The HNA Group Co.-backed carrier then slashed jobs and routes after the pandemic hit in 2020. 

A Hong Kong Airlines representative didn’t respond to a request for comment. 

Gary Zhan and Li Dianchun have become vice presidents at Hong Kong Airlines. Appointments were also made in the company’s human resources, legal, audit and administrative departments, the memo showed. 

(Bloomberg)