Greater Bay Airlines

Greater Bay Airlines Company Limited (GBA, Chinese: 大灣區航空有限公司), is a Hong Kong-based Low Cost Carrier established as Donghai Airlines in 2010, and rebranded in July 2020 as Greater Bay Airlines.[6] The company's inaugural passenger flight (from Hong Kong to Bangkok) was conducted in July 2022.[1]

Greater Bay Airlines
大灣區航空
IATA ICAO Callsign
HB HGB GREATER BAY
Founded24 May 2010 (2010-05-24)
(as Donghai Airlines)
8 July 2020 (2020-07-08)
(as Greater Bay Airlines)
Commenced operations23 July 2022 (2022-07-23)[1]
HubsHong Kong International Airport
Fleet size3
Destinations5
Parent companyEast Pacific (Holdings) Ltd.[2]
Headquarters12/F, One Citygate, 20 Tat Tung Road, Tung Chung, Lantau, Hong Kong[3]
Key people
  • Stanley Hui Hon Chung (CEO)[4]
  • Bill Wong Cho-bau (Chairperson)[5]
FoundersBill Wong Cho-bau
Websitewww.greaterbay-airlines.com
Greater Bay Airlines
Traditional Chinese大灣區航空公司
Simplified Chinese大湾区航空公司

History
Boeing 737-800 on a training flight

The company was founded on 24 May 2010, as a subsidiary of East Pacific (Holdings) Ltd. At that time, the airline was called Donghai Airlines. On 17 January 2019, the airline's name changed to Donghai Airlines (Hong Kong) Limited, while on 5 December 2019 the airline renamed as Hong Kong Bauhinia Airlines. On 8 July 2020, the airline was again renamed, to Greater Bay Airlines.[7][8][9][6]

During Greater Bay Airline's application to become a certified airline, the process was delayed due to concerns expressed by rivals Cathay Pacific, HK Express and Hong Kong Airlines.[10] As in February 2021, those airlines submitted position statements ("representations") rather than objections in response to GBA's application to the Hong Kong Transport and Housing Bureau.[11] Meanwhile, the company plans to rely on cargo services till COVID-19 travel restrictions are lifted.[12]

In September 2021, Greater Bay Airlines received its first aircraft, an ex-Norwegian Air International 2017-build Boeing 737-800 leased from the company ICBC Financial Leasing.[10][13] Its first charter flight was on 29 November 2021 and was a same-day round trip from Hong Kong to Bangkok,[14][15] just after the airline received its Air Operator's Certificate in October 2021. In February 2022, it was granted the Air Transport License of Hong Kong, which allows Greater Bay Airlines operating secluded flights.[16] A second aircraft was leased in March 2022, compared with the seven aircraft originally planned.[17]

Greater Bay Airlines first passenger flight occurred from Hong Kong to Bangkok on 23 July 2022. As of August 2022, the company's plans are to fly this route on Wednesdays and Saturdays.[1]

Senior leadership

Since Algernon Yau, the founding CEO left the airline and serve as the secretary for the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau with the newly formed administration of the Hong Kong Government,[18] Bill Wong, the Chairman of Greater Bay Airlines has named board member Stanley Hui as its new Chief Executive, effective on 26 June 2022.[19]

  • Chairman: Bill Wong (since May 2010)[5]
  • Chief Executive: Stanley Hui (since June 2022)[5]

List of former chief executives
  1. Algernon Yau (2021–2022)[20]

Destinations

On 22 January 2021, Greater Bay Airlines applied a total of 104 routes from Hong Kong to Mainland China, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and Southeast Asia.[21][22]

Passenger
HubFocus citySeasonalComing soonTerminated
Country/region City Airport Notes Refs
 Hong KongHong KongHong Kong International AirportHub
 JapanOsakaKansai International Airport[23]
TokyoNarita International Airport[24]
 South KoreaSeoulIncheon International Airport[25]
 TaiwanTaipeiTaoyuan International Airport[26]
 ThailandBangkokSuvarnabhumi Airport[27][28]

 

Fleet
Aircraft In Service Orders Passengers Notes
C Y Total
Boeing 737-800 3 3 — 189 189 3 leased from ICBC Leasing[29]
Boeing 737 MAX 9 — 15 TBA To be delivered between mid-2024 and 2027[30]
Total 3 18

See also

References
  1. Chua2022-07-25T08:05:00+01:00, Alfred. "Greater Bay Airlines gets airborne in low-key launch". Flight Global. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
  2. Kenji Kawase (25 July 2022). "Hong Kong's Greater Bay Airlines takes flight, but without fanfare". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  3. "Greater Bay Airlines-Contact Us". Greater Bay Airlines. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  4. Lai, Jodie (27 June 2022). "Greater Bay Airlines announces leadership change" (PDF).
  5. "Our Management | Greater Bay Airlines". Archived from the original on August 17, 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  6. "Shenzhen mogul to launch airline". The Standard Hong Kong. 2020-07-14. Retrieved 2022-01-15.
  7. "Amid travel standstill, newcomer Greater Bay Airlines seeks Hong Kong approval to take off". South China Morning Post. 2020-08-10. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  8. "Hong Kong Could Get Another Airline With Startup Greater Bay Airlines". Simple Flying. 2020-08-10. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  9. "黃楚標註冊「大灣區航空有限公司」　擬拓國內及東南亞航線". Oriental Daily News (in Chinese). 2020-07-14. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  10. "Hong Kong's Greater Bay Airlines likely to be delayed". ch-aviation. 2021-09-10. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  11. "Cathay Pacific regains permit to fly many China routes vacated by its closed subsidiary, while Greater Bay's bid meets with no objections". South China Morning Post. 2021-02-06. Retrieved 2022-01-15.
  12. "Greater Bay Airlines Expects to Launch in 2022". Airline Geeks. 2021-11-23. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  13. "Hong Kong's Greater Bay Airlines: What You Need To Know". Simple Flying. 2021-09-11. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  14. "大灣區航空首次包機　商業運貨往返香港曼谷　創業務里程碑". Oriental Daily News (in Chinese). 2021-11-29. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  15. "大灣區航空｜未獲空運牌照先起飛　首班貨運機今日來回曼谷". HK01 (in Chinese). 2021-11-29. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  16. Lai, Jodie (24 May 2022). "Greater Bay Airlines receives designation from the Transport and Housing Bureau of Hong Kong" (PDF). greaterbay-airlines.com.
  17. "Airline startup Greater Bay's launch slowed by COVID situation in Hong Kong". Reuters.
  18. "Fifteen new bureau heads named". Radio Television Hong Kong. 2022-06-19. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  19. Alfred Chua (2022-06-28). "Greater Bay Airlines names veteran Stanley Hui as new CEO". Flight Global. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  20. Blain, Robert (4 January 2021). "Greater Bay Airlines appoints new CEO". Human Resources Online.
  21. "Hong Kong upstart Greater Bay Airlines formally applies for rights to operate more than 100 routes". South China Morning Post. 22 January 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  22. "Publication by the Air Transport Licensing Authority, of Particulars of Application to Operate Scheduled Air Services" (PDF). The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Gazette. 22 January 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  23. Westbrook, Laura (3 March 2023). "Hong Kong's Greater Bay Airlines orders 15 Boeing aircraft, eyes 5 more, to hugely expand fleet of 3 leased planes ahead of launch of new and long-haul routes, business-class seats". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  24. "Greater Bay Airlines Launches Narita - Hong Kong Service on 12 January 2023!" (PDF). Narita International Airport. 2 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  25. "Greater Bay Airlines Confirms Seoul mid-Jan 2023 Launch". Aero Routes. 10 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  26. "Greater Bay Airlines launches new service to Taipei in December". Greater Bay Airlines. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  27. "Greater Bay Airlines to launch commercial flight to Bangkok". South China Morning Post. 17 June 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022 – via Bangkok Post.
  28. Jess Ma (22 July 2022). "Greater Bay Airlines' first flight set to take off for Bangkok from Hong Kong on Saturday". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  29. Freed, Jamie (18 March 2022). "Airline startup Greater Bay's launch slowed by COVID situation in Hong Kong". Reuters. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  30. Pang, Jessie; Zhou, Joyce (3 March 2023). "Hong Kong's Greater Bay Airlines announces order for 15 Boeing 737-9 airplanes". Reuters. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.