Hong Kong Airlines Capitalizes On Rising Demand By Launching Phuket Flights

Hong Kong Airlines is looking to increase its flight capacity to meet rising demand as the city fully reopens to travel. The carrier today announced a new service from Hong Kong and Phuket starting on June 16th, 2023. The service joins the recent route to Fukuoka, which begins on April 7th, alongside resumptions to Bali and Shanghai.

The new route is part of a more significant move by Hong Kong Airlines to strengthen and expand the connectivity between Hong Kong and regional destinations. The carrier aims to facilitate a wide range of travel options for regional passengers in the point-to-point and connecting markets. The new flight times between Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) and Phuket (HKT) are listed below but are subject to change before the route launches in June.

Hong Kong Airlines will conduct the flights on the carrier’s Airbus A320 fleet. The narrowbody comes in two configurations for the airline, a mixed cabin, and an all-economy variant. The two-class aircraft seats eight passengers in business and 144 in the economy cabin for 152 passengers. The single-class version seats 174 passengers with an average seat pitch of 29-30 inches.

Why Phuket?

The largest island in Thailand, Phuket, draws millions of tourists annually. The island is located in the southern region of Thailand, bordering the Andaman Sea on the Indian Ocean coast. It remains one of the most popular leisure travel destinations in the country. The area is known for its diverse experiences, including the sandy beaches, the local culture in the old town, and surfing on white sand beaches.

Photo: Airbus

Competition on the route comes from several sources. Hong Kong home carrier Cathay Pacific offers a daily Airbus A330 service. HK Express, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cathay Pacific that operates as a separate brand and low-cost carrier, also flies the airport pair. The airline operates a morning and evening service using its all-Airbus A320 and A321 fleet.

Thai AirAsia also flies the airport pair regularly. The carrier uses its Airbus A320 fleet to operate the route, which will continue through the summer.

Boosting regional connectivity

The announcement comes as Hong Kong Airlines adjusts its network strategies and launches new services. The carrier hopes Phuket will further leverage Hong Kong’s connectivity as a regional hub in Asia to meet the demand for international transit and travel need in the Southeast Asia region. The airline is ramping up its network’s leisure options before the summer holidays and peak travel season.

Hong Kong Airlines is also expanding to other regional destinations this month. As previously covered by Simple Flying, the airline will debut a brand new service to Fukuoka on the southwest coast of Japan on April 7th. The port city is one of the largest in the nation and is known as the gateway to Kyushu.

Photo: Airbus

The airline announced it would resume a five-times weekly service to Bali Denpasar and daily service to Shanghai Hongqiao starting Monday, April 17th. The carrier will serve both routes with a widebody Airbus A330-300. Elsewhere, Hong Kong Airlines made history as the first local airline in Hong Kong to operate service to both international airports in Beijing when it commenced flights to Beijing Daxing International Airport earlier this month.