Growing Hong Kong airline HK Express cuts fares in bid for market share
Aggressive move comes on the back of rocky few months for Cathay Pacific
Hong Kong’s only budget airline has released 50,000 discounted tickets in a bid to turn up the heat on local rivals.
The aggressive push from HK Express, on its third birthday, follows Cathay Pacific Airways cutting business class ticket prices through its own discounted airfares initiative.
Cathay Pacific’s fortunes have taken a turn for the worse in recent months, with a profit forecast scrapped and destinations under review.
While dismissing the notion of a fare war, HK Express chief executive Andrew Cowen said he wanted to get more customers who have never flown with a budget carrier before.
“We obviously monitor our competitors’ fares ... and sometimes we’ll respond to that,” Cowen said, adding he was honouring the firm’s commitment to affordable airfares in the many years to come.”
Since launching in 2013, the airline has flown six million people. It flies to 25 destinations and operates with 16 aircraft.