Exclusive | Embattled Hong Kong Airlines could be set to cut its fleet by more than a quarter to help resolve financial woes
- The troubled carrier may scale back its number of planes from 38 to 28, axe planned for its Airbus A330-200 models
- Hong Kong Airlines has been unable to take delivery of four new planes and is being sued by two aircraft-leasing companies
Hong Kong Airlines could slash the number of planes it flies by more than a quarter in a drastic bid to balance its books as it is badgered once again by the government over its finances and clouded by lawsuits over unpaid dues.
The cash-strapped company is studying plans to transfer some aircraft to its main shareholder HNA, return planes to aircraft-leasing companies or scrap planes outright, the Post understands.
It is close to deciding to chop the number of passenger jets from 38 to 28 as part of a massive restructuring effort, focused on removing the smaller variant of its largest jets, the Airbus A330-200.
A source familiar with the plans said the decision would mean “quite a big cut of the A330 fleet”.
Hong Kong Airlines did not deny a plan to shrink the number of planes it operates, saying in a statement: “We are working on consolidating and optimising our network and fleet.”
“Hong Kong Airlines aims to improve our structure to boost revenue, manage costs and achieve higher productivity,” a company spokeswoman added. She denied any changes would result in job losses.
