Hong Kong Airlines shrugs off cash flow concerns and says ‘it’s business as normal’ despite being under growing financial strain
- Troubled carrier had delayed delivery of new planes, seen a host of senior managers quit and experienced trouble paying staff
- But in stock exchange filing the airline says it will be able to pay US$550 million debt on time
Hong Kong Airlines has insisted it will be able to meet its financial obligations, despite sources saying it had been under growing strain over the past 12 months.
Over that time the company has delayed the delivery of expensive new planes, reportedly paid staff late, and cut back on perks for its employees at hotels, the sources said.
Against the backdrop of what appeared to be mounting cash-flow problems, the Post reported on Wednesday that the government was working on a contingency plan should the airline collapse during the Lunar New Year in February, one of the busiest travel periods for airlines in the region.
However, in a statement released on Friday, the airline said that it “has been and will continue to operate as normal”.
“For the coming [Lunar] New Year holidays, Hong Kong Airlines is expected to operate close to 1,080 flights and fly more than 224,000 passengers between February 1-10, 2019, representing a 4.2 per cent increase in the number of passengers carried over the same period last year.”
