Hong Kong Dragon Airlines (Dragonair) plans aggressive expansion before its flotation on the stock exchange early next year, chief operating officer Philip Chen says.
Yesterday, Mr Chen denied there was a link between the expansion plans and the listing timetable, as new destinations had been planned long before talk of a float ever took place.
He also said the airline would continue to focus on regional routes, mainly to China, and countered rumours it had its sights set on challenging Cathay Pacific Airways on long-haul routes.
'Dragonair is Hong Kong's regional airline,' Mr Chen said.
'By regional, I mean five hours flying time from Hong Kong. That circle from Hong Kong covers all the major cities in China and Asia, and that circle covers half the world's population.' Mr Chen said the airline, which plans to launch a new route to the southern Taiwanese port city of Kaohsiung on July 31, also would increase services to China and Japan.
In China, existing charter flights to Qingdao, Chengdu and Xian would be converted to scheduled services in August, along with increased frequencies.
The airline would also decide soon whether to fly to Urumqi, and either Shantou or Chongqing, but technical hurdles had to be overcome before Urumqi services could be launched.