Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Friday, Jun 20, 2025

Chinese tycoon bets on Hong Kong travel rebound with new airline

Greater Bay Airlines has leased three jets and is hiring up to 500 staff
Even as one Hong Kong airline disappears under the pressure of the coronavirus pandemic after 35 years of operations, another is rising to take its place.

Greater Bay Airlines, which takes its name from Chinese President Xi Jinping's pet project to integrate Hong Kong and Macao with Shenzhen, Guangzhou and other cities in Guangdong Province, has started hiring staff and preparing paperwork and aircraft to be able to take to the skies by mid-2021.

Embodying the Greater Bay Area notion, the airline is the brainchild of Chinese property tycoon Huang Chubiao, who owns Shenzhen-based carrier Donghai Airlines.

"We know it comes at a time when aviation is facing this unprecedented crisis," Stanley Hui Hong-chung, an industry veteran who is advising Huang, told Nikkei Asia in a recent interview. "(But) he is damn serious about this project."

Hui previously served as chief executive of Dragonair, the airline later renamed Cathay Dragon, which Cathay Pacific Airways shut down abruptly on Oct. 21. He also has been chief executive of the Airport Authority of Hong Kong and is currently an independent board director at Air China, which in turn is a major shareholder of both Cathay Pacific and Shenzhen Airlines.

Hui bases his optimism about the recovery of the local aviation market on his experience leading Dragonair through the SARS epidemic in 2003.

"Demand dried up and it was very frightening," he said. "(But) the reality is, I think eventually these things will be overcome," he added, expressing faith in the emergence of effective vaccines and treatment for COVID-19 by next year.

Donghai Airlines, which launched cargo flights in 2006, moved into passenger operations in 2014 and now serves 54 cities, including international routes to Naypyidaw and Darwin, Australia, according to its website.

The entrance of Huang, also known as Bill Wong, into Hong Kong aviation is a natural extension of the earlier venture, with "a push from the policy direction of the country on Greater Bay," Hui said.

From Hui's perspective as a 45-year industry veteran, "establishing a new airline is very different" from the challenges facing industry incumbents like Cathay amid the pandemic.

"It's a very different situation compared with airlines that are so big," he said. "This [is an] unprecedented crisis, and they have to downsize... It's extremely painful for existing airlines."

In preparation for launch, Greater Bay Air has signed a lease for three secondhand Boeing 737-800 narrow-body jets, the same model that Donghai operates, and it plans to secure two more by the end of next year. It applied for a Hong Kong air operator's certificate in May.

The company aims to hire 400 to 500 staff under the recruitment drive launched in mid-October, shortly before Cathay announced it would cut 5,300 positions in Hong Kong.

Hui said some former Cathay staff have put in applications. "It would be natural that people with the right skills would be considered," he said.

The new airline intends to serve routes to China, East Asia and Southeast Asia, Hui said without specifying targets though acknowledging they are likely to overlap with some of the 46 routes that were served by Cathay Dragon.

Although Cathay Pacific Chairman Patrick Healy has said he hopes that Cathay and sister carrier Hong Kong Express can take over most of those route rights, the Hong Kong government has said that any interested carrier can apply to get them.

"It is too early to speculate" on whether Greater Bay will vie for the rights, Hui said, indicating the company will first need a full set of operating licenses.

Hui and Huang have become close while serving together as members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Beijing's top advisory body.

Asked whether their personal networks will help get Greater Bay airborne, Hui said: "We all have to go through exactly the same process regardless of who you are and what you are. I would not play up anything on so-called political connections."
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
Mass exodus in Tehran as millions try to flee following Trump’s evacuation order
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
Iran Conducts Ballistic Missile Launches Amid Heightened Tensions with Israel
Iran Signals Openness to Nuclear Negotiations Amid Ongoing Regional Tensions
Shock Within Iran’s Leadership: Khamenei’s Failed Plan to Launch 1,000 Missiles Against Israel
UK Deploys Jets to Middle East Amid Rising Tensions
Exiled Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi Urges Overthrow of Khamenei Regime
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Iran Launches Extensive Missile Attack on Israel Following Israeli Strikes on Nuclear Sites
Israel Issues Ultimatum to Iran Over Potential Retaliation and Nuclear Facilities
Coinbase CEO Warns Bitcoin Could Supplant US Dollar Amid Mounting National Debt
Trump to Iran: Make a Deal — Sign or Die
Operation "Like a Lion": Israel Strikes Iran in Unprecedented Offensive
Israel Launches 'Operation Rising Lion' Targeting Iranian Nuclear and Military Sites
Israeli Forces Intercept Gaza-Bound Aid Vessel Carrying Greta Thunberg
IMF Warns of Severe Global Trade War Impacts on Emerging Markets
Syria to Reconnect to Global Economy After 14 Years of Isolation
Saudi Arabia Faces Uncertainty Over Succession After Mohammed bin Salman
Israel Confirms Arming Gaza Clan to Counter Hamas Influence
Majority of French Voters View Macron's Presidency as a Failure
U.S. Reduces Military Presence in Syria
Trump Demands Iran End All Uranium Enrichment in Nuclear Talks
Iran Warns Europe Against Politicizing UN Nuclear Report
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
European and Arab Ministers Convene in Madrid to Address Gaza Conflict
Head of Gaza Aid Group Resigns Amid Humanitarian Concerns
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
×