Hong Kong Airlines will cease flying its services to the Gold Coast and Cairns from October 28, 2018, effectively ending the carrier’s presence in Australia with its own metal.
The airline confirmed the decision in a recent statement, in which it cited a “changing business strategy in the Australian market” as the reason for the service’s cancellation.
The decision will see Gold Coast lose its non-stop connectivity to and from Hong Kong, though Cairns will still have a thrice-weekly non-stop service to the city with Cathay Pacific.
Hong Kong Airlines’ final flight out of Hong Kong will be HX015 on October 27, while the last flight departing Australia will be HX016 flying out on October 28. The service operates on a triangular Hong Kong-Gold Coast-Cairns-Hong Kong routing.
Affected passengers with Hong Kong Airlines will be offered alternative travel arrangements. These include:
- Free change to any destination in the airline’s network operated by the carrier within two weeks of the original departure date
- Free change of travel date to Gold Coast and Cairns before October 28
- Free transfer to Gold Coast and Cairns flights operated by Virgin Australia or Hainan Airlines, including necessary ground transportation fees
- Full refunds
Business Traveller reviewed Hong Kong Airlines’ Gold Coast-Cairns-Hong Kong route last summer.
[embed]https://www.businesstraveller.com/tried-and-tested/flight-review-hong-kong-airlines-a330-300-business-class/[/embed]Hong Kong Airlines will still offer passengers access to flights to Australia, though these will be through partnerships with other carriers.
The airline’s joint-venture agreement with Virgin Australia enables passengers to fly between Hong Kong and Melbourne, while codesharing on the Australian airline’s upcoming Hong Kong-Sydney service will begin on July 2, 2018.
Codesharing is also available on other Virgin Australia domestic services between Melbourne and destinations in Australia, as well as to Auckland and Christchurch from Gold Coast and Melbourne.
