The situation at Hong Kong Airlines seems to be getting worse by the day.
A couple of days ago I wrote about how Hong Kong Airlines is struggling to pay staff their November salaries on-time. Then yesterday I wrote about how how Hong Kong Airlines is ending all long haul flights, as they’re ending service to Australia, following them cutting flights to Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.
It’s now being reported that Hong Kong Airlines will be cutting inflight entertainment as of December 1, 2019. The company has apologized for the inconvenience, and says they are working with system suppliers to resume service as soon as possible.
Presumably this comes down to Hong Kong Airlines’ inability to pay the suppliers for the content. If they can’t pay employees I guess it’s only fair enough that they can’t pay for entertainment.
One really has to wonder how much longer this will go on. Short of a further influx of cash from parent company HNA Group (which probably isn’t in much of a position to do that anyway), it doesn’t seem like the airline has a path towards survival.
As all of this happens, the Air Transport Licensing Authority of Hong Kong is considering suspending the carrier’s operating license, given that they find the financial situation to be “unsatisfactory.”
One way or another I imagine something big will happen within the next week here. Whether that comes in the form of the airline voluntarily suspending operations, the airline having their license revoked, or HNA Group injecting more cash, remains to be seen.
They’re relying on ongoing ticket sales to pay salaries, and I imagine all of the news related to what’s going on is hurting ticket sales greatly.
(Tip of the hat to UA869)
Checked in at BKK tonight for a A330 flight to HKG and there was a printed letter on the desk apologising for the lack of IFE. I'm rather glad this is our only HX flight and we look like we will make it before their license is pulled!
If they can't even pay for IFE, I wonder how they are able to afford the fuel to fly the planes?!
I'm from SE Asia and while a lot of my family is travelling through the region, none of them are on HX. I put them on the no fly list after that report over the summer that multiples planes were flying that had been flagged as missing parts.
So far as ongoing ticket sales are concerned, you'd have rocks in your head to buy a ticket for travel beyond, like, tomorrow!
@Aaron @Icarus as well as Vancouver for the next couple of months, so @Flyer is correct
@Andrew
Virgin Australia recently signed up a JV with Virgin Atlantic for AU-HKG-LHR and AU-LAX-LHR and will be required to keep SYD-HKG as part of the VS partnership, despite the partnership with HX is looking likely to be winding down.
Virgin Australia has already downsized HKG by cancelling MEL-HKG and replacing that with a partnership with All Nippon (NH) on BNE-HND instead.
Think Jet Airways...
Dougie would be so proud!
We flew them in J just yesterday NRT-HKG. The flight crew / service was professional and courteous considering their paycheck probably bounced. IFE worked.
We had booked back in March, and were quite nervous the airline was going to fold over the summer. Quite relieved to have gotten through the flights before all of this.
@Aaron
Norwegian is also in a very good position to win this game.
@Icarus
They're still operating flights to LA until early 2020, no?
"Whether that comes in the form of the airline voluntarily suspending operations, the airline having their license revoked, or HNA Group injecting more cash, remains to be seen."
We should start a betting pool. Who will go out of business first, Hong Kong Airlines or AtlasGlobal?
It is guaranteed that Hong Kong Airlines may go bust very soon. Then? Virgin Australia will probably permanently pulls out of HKG earlier than expected.
Except there won’t be any longhaul flights
@Flyer well they don’t have true long-haul flights anymore except flights to Maldives ;)
Oh gosh that would be a miserable long haul flight.