DELTA Air Lines has moved its regional office to Tokyo from Hong Kong as it prepares to pull out from the territory at the end of the week.
The airline, which has been operating into Kai Tak airport from Los Angeles since 1992, said in August it was halting flights between North America and three Asian points from December 1.
The airline will continue to fly to Tokyo and Nagoya in Japan, Seoul in South Korea, and Singapore via Frankfurt. From Friday it ceases services to Hong Kong, Taipei and Bangkok to focus more on its transAtlantic business.
Passenger sales manager Lim Bee Hwa said passenger loads had been strong on the Hong Kong-Los Angeles service since January, but the transPacific market had become so competitive that yields had fallen.
'For Delta Air Lines, the yield was probably not attractive enough,' Ms Lim said.
'The route is not making money. Seventy-five per cent of the passenger load originated from Hong Kong [and only 25 per cent from Los Angeles], so it was not a good balance.' Ms Lim said a sales office would remain in Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong office had employed about 35 people, but many had either returned to the United States headquarters or were transferred to Tokyo, Ms Lim said.