Hong Kong Airlines’ recently announced route to Los Angeles is the first that the airline has confirmed will be flown by its new A350 aircraft.
The Hong Kong carrier has up until now been tight-lipped about where its new aircraft will first fly, though Los Angeles has been speculated. Hong Kong Airlines is expected to receive delivery of its first A350 this August, which will also feature its new business class seat product. While this is the first route the airline has confirmed will feature the new aircraft, it remains to be seen whether it will be the first route period.
The new Los Angeles route follows the launch of Hong Kong Airlines’ debut North America service to Vancouver at the end of June, which is currently operated by the airline’s A330-200.
“Following the success of the Vancouver route, we are excited to set up the first destination in the continental United States to further expand our international network,” said COO Li Dianchun. “The launch of the Los Angeles route will strengthen the connection with our well-developed Asia Pacific network, thus providing more travel options for business, leisure, academic or family travellers.”
Further details of the route have also been unveiled. The service has been given a December 18, 2017 commencement date and a full schedule has been confirmed.
Previous reports that flight HK068 will depart Hong Kong at 1210 and arrive at Los Angeles at 0855 local time, and return flight HK069 will leave Los Angeles at 1045 and arrive back in Hong Kong at 1820, have shown to be correct. Exceptions to this are from March 11 onwards, where arrival at and departure from Los Angeles will be one hour later due to daylight savings (0955 arrival and 1145 departure, respectively).
The schedule also shows that the initially four-times-weekly service will become a daily operation starting January 16 next year.
Hong Kong Airlines first announced its intentions to fly to Los Angeles earlier this month, when it also celebrated the launch of its new codeshare agreement with Virgin Australia, following the Antipodean carrier’s launch of its new direct Melbourne-Hong Kong flights.
