Greater Bay Airlines launches maiden chartered flight to Beijing on 1 October 2021

Report by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

According to the South China Morning Post, Greater Bay Airlines will make its maiden chartered flight to Beijing from Hong Kong on 1 October 2021.

Although the time has been set, Greater Bay  Airlines is currently waiting for its Air Operating Certificate (AOC). Former Hong Kong Airport Authority Chief Executive Xu Hanzhong, director of Greater Bay Airlines, revealed in an interview that he expects to receive an AOC on 17 September 2021.

Xu Hanzhong said that the maiden flight to Beijing was a deliberate decision and symbolized the airline's development plan. He said that the company, as a new airline, will not rush to expand until it is ready, and will adjust the pace of development according to market conditions.

 Greater Bay Airlines has applied to operate passenger, cargo or mail services in and to and from Hong Kong, with a total of 104 destinations, including routes to Mainland China, Japan and South Korea, Taiwan and Southeast Asia. Its models are mainly Boeing 737-800 short-haul aircraft, and it is planned to steadily increase to 25 to 30 aircraft in the next five years.

Xu Hanzhong also claimed that some competitors had slowed down its operations, saying that the company started to apply for relevant licenses as early as December last year, and was reminded from time to time that it must comply with the requirements of the Hong Kong Air Transport Licensing Authority (ATLA) concerning the main place of business and financial strength. 

If  Greater Bay Airlines has not been issued an ATLA license, it will not be able to apply for the operation of fixed passenger flights, but can only operate in the form of non-fixed charter flights. He also said that the major shareholder Huang Chubiao had already injected additional capital into the company earlier and believed that it could meet all the requirements, but believed that some operating airlines did not want competitors to join, or used various methods to hinder or delay their entry into the market. 

A Cathay Pacific spokesperson responded that the group does not object to the Greater Bay Airlines' license application, but urged ATLA to consider the impact of the covid epidemic on the aviation industry.