When Oasis Hong Kong Airlines took to the skies, promising cheaper flights and new destinations
- Oasis Hong Kong Airlines promised to shake up the city’s aviation industry by flying tour groups and travellers to new European destinations for less
- Its launch did not go down well with market leader Cathay Pacific, but it need not have worried. After an inauspicious debut, Oasis was to last only 18 months
“A former chief executive of Hong Kong Dragon Airlines is to launch a new long-haul airline,” reported the South China Morning Post on February 3, 2005. “Oasis Hong Kong Airlines aims to fly tour groups and value-conscious travellers to European destinations that are either not served from Hong Kong or priced too expensively for the average consumer.”
But on December 1 the Post reported, “Hong Kong’s fifth commercial airline was given wings yesterday, after the Air Transport Licensing Authority awarded Hong Kong Oasis Airlines licences to six international destinations.”
The plan, as reported on July 7, 2006, was to “undercut its rivals savagely with a one-way fare to London of £75 (HK$1,066) plus tax when it launches the service in October […] as opposed to HK$4,070 and HK$3,790 offered by Cathay Pacific and Virgin Atlantic, respectively”.
On October 1, Oasis CEO Stephen Miller was quoted as saying “the airline has sold 13,000 seats and the bookings [are] coming in ‘thick and fast’.” However, “a well-placed airline source said there was some concern about a new airline only having two planes”. To which Miller replied, “What’s wrong with having two planes? No airline has a plane parked around the back because aircraft are so reliable these days.”
Oasis got off to “an inauspicious start” on October 25 “when its debut flight from Hong Kong to London was cancelled because it lacked permission to fly over Russia”. A “once-only” approval was eventually granted, with the flight taking off more than 24 hours later.
On October 27, the Post reported that “the one-off arrangement” had cast doubts over “the future of Hong Kong’s first long-haul budget carrier”. And on April 10, 2008, a Post headline stated, “Oasis files for liquidation – 30,000 ticket-holders hit and 700 staff face an uncertain future.”
