Competition on cards to buy HK Express as senior executive says unnamed investors join Cathay Pacific in eyeing budget carrier
- The city’s biggest airline already made its interest in the low-cost carrier known
- But chief commercial officer at HK Express says there is ‘interest from certain strategic investors, and it’s very early stages’
Cathay Pacific Airways is facing competition in its bid to acquire HK Express, a senior executive of the low-cost carrier said on Thursday.
Chief commercial officer Jonathan Hutt did not provide names or details, but said: “Our board of directors has received interest from certain strategic investors, and it’s very early stages.
“There has been no firm commitment to any deal and there is no guarantee that a concrete deal is going ahead.”
The news that there was more than one interested party came as HK Express unveiled a slick new marketing drive with the slogan “Your move”, which has taken on an added meaning given the latest events.
The airline said its growth, since converting into a budget airline in 2013 with just three aircraft, demonstrated the success of its strategy of flying to well-known destinations, competing against the likes of Cathay Pacific and even its own ailing sister carrier, Hong Kong Airlines.
It now has 24 aircraft and flies to 24 destinations, including 11 cities in Japan. Last month it announced a new destination, Shimojishima in Okinawa’s Miyako Islands.
The number of passengers it flew grew from 2.9 million in 2016 to 4.1 million last year.
Rapid expansion has not been without its problems. In 2017, the carrier was punished by the Hong Kong government for missteps that led to flight cancellations that affected 2,000 passengers during a busy public holiday in China in October that year.
A shake-up of top management followed, and the authorities banned the airline from expanding. The ban was lifted last June.
Resuming its growth strategy recently, the airline said it would add at least two more destinations in the second half of the year.
“We’ll continue to look for more growth opportunities, both in our core markets in North Asia and in Southeast Asia,” Hutt said. “We are currently looking at 30 destinations and we are looking at ones right for our network and audience.”
Hutt said the airline’s growth showed its business model worked, and he vowed to stick with it in the event of a takeover.
“It is vindication of us doing well, progressing and growing in the market, and we’ll continue to offer the same, safe affordable travel options, moving ahead as always. Business as usual,” he said.
