Bay airline in mainland race

Greater Bay Airlines will fly to mainland cities "as soon as possible" after its first flight to Manila, which is expected to happen early next month.

Chief executive Stanley Hui Hon-chung said demand is a key factor driving a decision over whether to launch a route, but also hoped the services the airline was going with would prove to be competitive enough before it embarked on new routes.

The young airline company is starting out with a fleet of four and six Asian destinations, and will add four more between the end of this year and the first half of next year.

Speaking at a luncheon yesterday, Hui said the company had been through its most difficult period, the three-year pandemic, and was now striving to expand its services. It has launched services to Tokyo, Seoul, Osaka and Ho Chi Minh.

It has also ordered 15 Boeing 737-MAX 9s, with deliveries to start in August.

With the resumption of normal life after the pandemic and more Hongkongers traveling, Hui said the airline has increased the number of flights to and from Taipei during the summer holidays, and plans to launch flights to Manila early next month.

Regarding the timing of mainland service launches, he said the airline would definitely consider the mainland market with fleet additions.

"Whether it is a megacity such as Beijing or Shanghai, or other new first-tier cities such as Chongqing, Hangzhou or Chengdu, they are all our primary targets."

The airline is also aware that Urumqi, Hohhot and other northwestern cities are becoming popular destinations for Hongkongers, and may introduce services to these places during peak travel seasons.

Hui admitted the aviation industry was still facing postpandemic woes such as a shortage of manpower, and supported the government's policy of importing labor.

He said the diversity of talents recruited from different countries and regions could be a source of resilience for Hong Kong and that the airline would continue to recruit experienced pilots and cabin crew internationally.

Hui hoped authorities could introduce policies to facilitate the development and operation of start-up airlines to promote competition, such as giving them priority in choosing flight schedules.

"Fair competition can promote progress in the entire market, and consumers would also not want a route to be operated exclusively by a single company, as airfares are bound to be extremely expensive."