Greater Bay Airlines
大灣區航空
IATA ICAO Callsign
HB HGB GREATER BAY
Founded24 May 2010; 13 years ago (2010-05-24)
(as Donghai Airlines)
8 July 2020; 3 years ago (2020-07-08)
(as Greater Bay Airlines)
Commenced operations23 July 2022; 19 months ago (2022-07-23)[1]
AOC #19
HubsHong Kong International Airport
Fleet size7
Destinations8
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

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

Its head office is in One Citygate in Tung Chung.[7]

History

Boeing 737-800 on a training flight

Greater Bay Airlines was founded on May 24, 2010, as a subsidiary of East Pacific (Holdings) Ltd., initially known as Donghai Airlines. The company went through several name changes, becoming Donghai Airlines (Hong Kong) Limited on January 17, 2019, then Hong Kong Bauhinia Airlines on December 5, 2019, and finally Greater Bay Airlines on July 8, 2020.[8][9][10][6]

During the certification process, the airline faced delays due to concerns raised by competitors Cathay Pacific, HK Express and Hong Kong Airlines.[11] However, by February 2021, these concerns were addressed, and the airlines submitted position statements instead of objections to Greater Bay Airlines' application.[12]

Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, Greater Bay Airlines initially focused on cargo services[13] 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.[11][14] It obtained its Air Operator's Certificate in October 2021 and began charter flights in November the same year. Its first charter flight, on 29 November 2021, was a same-day round trip from Hong Kong to Bangkok.[15][16]

In February 2022, the airline was granted the Air Transport License of Hong Kong, allowing it to operate scheduled flights. A second aircraft was leased in March 2022, deviating from the original plan of seven aircraft.[17][18]

Greater Bay Airlines launched its first passenger flight from Hong Kong to Bangkok in July 2022. As of February 2024, the airline operates scheduled services to seven destinations: Manila, Bangkok, Taipei, Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore and Osaka.[1]

Senior leadership

Following the departure of Algernon Yau, the founding CEO of Greater Bay Airlines, who assumed the role of secretary for the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau in the new Hong Kong Government administration,[19] Bill Wong, the Chairman of Greater Bay Airlines named board member Stanley Hui as its new Chief Executive, effective on 26 June 2022.[20]

Destinations

These destinations are currently served by Greater Bay Airlines. [21][22]

Country/region City Airport Notes Refs
Hong Kong Hong Kong Hong Kong International Airport Hub
Japan Osaka Kansai International Airport [23]
Tokyo Narita International Airport [24]
Philippines Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport [25][26]
Singapore Singapore Changi Airport Begins 26 April 2024 [27][28]
South Korea Seoul Incheon International Airport [29]
Taiwan Taipei Taoyuan International Airport [30]
Thailand Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport [31][32]
Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City Tan Son Nhat International Airport Terminated [33][34]

Fleet

Current fleet

Greater Bay Airlines fleet
Aircraft In Service Orders Passengers Notes
C Y Total
Boeing 737-800 7 1 — 189 189 3 leased from ICBC Leasing[35]
Boeing 737 MAX 9 — 15 TBA To be delivered between mid-2024 and 2027[36]
Total 7 16

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Chua2022-07-25T08:05:00+01:00, Alfred. "Greater Bay Airlines gets airborne in low-key launch". Flight Global. Retrieved 2022-08-03.((cite web)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  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. ^ a b "Shenzhen mogul to launch airline". The Standard Hong Kong. 2020-07-14. Retrieved 2022-01-15.
  7. ^ "Greater Bay Airlines Co Ltd". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2023-08-27. 12/F, One Citygate 20 Tat Tung Road, Tung Chung Lantau Hong Kong (SAR)
  8. ^ "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.
  9. ^ "Hong Kong Could Get Another Airline With Startup Greater Bay Airlines". Simple Flying. 2020-08-10. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  10. ^ "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.
  11. ^ a b "Hong Kong's Greater Bay Airlines likely to be delayed". ch-aviation. 2021-09-10. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  12. ^ "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.
  13. ^ "Greater Bay Airlines Expects to Launch in 2022". Airline Geeks. 2021-11-23. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  14. ^ "Hong Kong's Greater Bay Airlines: What You Need To Know". Simple Flying. 2021-09-11. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  15. ^ "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.
  16. ^ "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.
  17. ^ Lai, Jodie (24 May 2022). "Greater Bay Airlines receives designation from the Transport and Housing Bureau of Hong Kong" (PDF). greaterbay-airlines.com.
  18. ^ "Airline startup Greater Bay's launch slowed by COVID situation in Hong Kong". Reuters.
  19. ^ "Fifteen new bureau heads named". Radio Television Hong Kong. 2022-06-19. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  20. ^ Alfred Chua (2022-06-28). "Greater Bay Airlines names veteran Stanley Hui as new CEO". Flight Global. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  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. ^ https://www.greaterbay-airlines.com/hk/en/offers/route-map.html
  26. ^ "Greater Bay Airlines Adds Manila From Nov 2023". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  27. ^ Hayward, Justin (15 November 2023). "Hong Kong's Greater Bay Airlines: What You Need To Know". Simple Flying. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  28. ^ "Greater Bay Airlines launches scheduled service to Singapore in April". Greater Bay Airlines. 8 February 2024.
  29. ^ "Greater Bay Airlines Confirms Seoul mid-Jan 2023 Launch". Aero Routes. 10 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  30. ^ "Greater Bay Airlines launches new service to Taipei in December". Greater Bay Airlines. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  31. ^ "Greater Bay Airlines to launch commercial flight to Bangkok". South China Morning Post. 17 June 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022 – via Bangkok Post.
  32. ^ 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.
  33. ^ "Greater Bay Airlines Adds Ho Chi Minh City service from July 2023 Launch". Aero Routes. 22 June 2022.
  34. ^ "Greater Bay Airlines discontinues Vietnam service from late-Feb 2024". AeroRoutes. 2 February 2024.
  35. ^ Freed, Jamie (18 March 2022). "Airline startup Greater Bay's launch slowed by COVID situation in Hong Kong". Reuters. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  36. ^ 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.
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