Hong Kong Airlines (HKA) will phase out its five Boeing 737-800 aircraft following an order from the Civil Aviation Department banning any further growth until it meets all the safety requirements for operating a bigger fleet.
The department's unprecedented ban imposed on July 17 will stop Hong Kong Airlines from adding aircraft or diversifying into other plane types.
The airline, which is a subsidiary of the mainland's diversified conglomerate HNA Group, operates 20 aircraft, including Airbus 320s, A330s, and Boeing 737-800s on routes to Shanghai, Beijing, Taipei, Tokyo and London.
It is due to take delivery of four or five A320s and A330s by the end of the year.
Hong Kong Airlines president Yang Jianhong said that it was not a bad thing for the airline to take what he called a temporary break in its expansion.
With the new Airbus airliners due to arrive, the company will keep its total fleet size unchanged by phasing out its B737-800s.
'[This] will also be in line with our strategy to keep a simple aircraft type in the company,' Yang said.