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Low-cost carrier HK Express overtakes combined might of Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon on non-stop flights to Japan
- Shift indicates threat of low-cost carriers to city’s top airline
- Cathay bought HK Express in March for HK$4.93 billion
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Budget airline HK Express will soon operate more non-stop flights to Japan than any Hong Kong airline, overtaking the combined might of Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon in the key market.
The shift indicates the threat of low-cost carriers to the city’s top airline – and underscores why Cathay bought HK Express in March for HK$4.93 billion (US$628 million), entering the competitive budget market for the first time. Cathay will take control of five-year-old HK Express by the end of the year.
HK Express last week announced it would launch daily flights to Okinawa from September 26. The new destination expands the airline’s non-stop flights to Japan to 137 per week. Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon offer 135 non-stop flights to Japan during the peak of summer, according to data provided by the airlines.
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HK Express, the city’s only low-cost carrier, already flies to more destinations in Japan than the Cathay Group, which flies to eight. The airline is also set to expand flights to Shimojishima, in the Ryukyu Islands, from July 19.
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The expansion was facilitated by subsidies from Japanese regional governments, as well as earning money from cargo and a lack of competitors.
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