Budget airline Hong Kong Express aims for 10pc market share
Carrier joins rivals Cathay Pacific and Dragonair in expressing opposition to Jetstar Hong Kong's application for an operating licence
Hong Kong Express Airways says it hopes to get 10 per cent of the city's market for passenger flights by offering cheap fares when it transforms itself into a budget airline next month.
A one-way ticket to Kunming, Yunnan province, excluding taxes and fuel surcharges will be HK$298 - less than half that offered by CX fanfare, a weekly fare promotion of Cathay Pacific Airways.
The HK Express fare to Phuket, Thailand, will be HK$368 - a third of the fare of low-cost rival Jetstar Hong Kong, which awaits approval to become the city's second budget carrier.
Flights to Tokyo's Haneda airport, the priciest among the airline's seven destinations announced yesterday, will be HK$758, on par with Osaka-based low-cost carrier Peach Aviation.
When there are just two people, it is great; when there are 1,000 people, it’s not
The airline's deputy chief executive, Andrew Cowen, said that not all tickets would be that cheap. Cowen said HK Express would add six aircraft next year, and by 2018 its fleet would be 30-strong. He would not estimate the proportion of total sales that promotional tickets would account for, as airfares were adjusted according to demand, he said.