Asian airlines slash flights to Hong Kong as unrest escalates (updated)

Jin Air Co

18/11/2019 06:44

* AirAsia, Jeju Air, Cebu Pacific among those confirming
cuts
    * Hong Kong airport passenger numbers declined 13% in
October
    * Mainland Chinese carriers have reported large demand drop

 (Adds comments from South Korean airlines)
    By Jamie Freed
    SYDNEY, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Several Asian airlines have cut
flights to Hong Kong over the coming weeks, an industry
scheduling publication showed, as anti-government protests in
the city grow increasingly violent and disrupt daily life.
    Routes Online said the latest schedules showed cancellations
from PT Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk  GIAA.JK , India's
SpiceJet Ltd  SPJT.NS , Malaysia's AirAsia Group Bhd  AIRA.KL ,
South Korea's JejuAir Co Ltd  089590.KS  and Jin Air Co Ltd
 272450.KS  and the Philippines' PAL Holdings Inc  PAL.PS  and
Cebu Air Inc  CEB.PS .
    The cuts come as Hong Kong police on Monday fired tear gas
at protesters trying to escape a besieged university, while
others armed with petrol bombs awaited an expected operation to
oust them.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N27X0BQ
    The unrest, raging for almost six months, and an escalating
Sino-U.S. trade war has pushed the Asian financial hub into
recession for the first time in a decade.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N27U64K
    On Sunday, Airport Authority Hong Kong reported an October
decline of 13% in passengers and 6.1% in the number of inbound
and outbound flights - the steepest falls since the unrest
began. It said a growing proportion of travellers were using
Hong Kong as a transit point rather than a destination.
    On Monday, Routes Online showed Garuda has reduced weekly
flights to Hong Kong to four from 21 through mid-December,
SpiceJet has suspended its Mumbai-Hong Kong route through Jan.
15 and AirAsia has cut flights from Kuala Lumpur and Kota
Kinabalu in December and January.
    Garuda and SpiceJet did not respond to Reuters' requests for
comment. AirAsia said passenger numbers have been lower over the
past few months and that it is adjusting capacity accordingly.
    A spokeswoman for PAL Holdings' Philippine Airlines said the
carrier was using smaller planes than usual for Hong Kong as
passengers were postponing travel due to safety concerns. It has
also cut daily flights from Manila to four from five, she said.
    A spokeswoman for Cebu Air's Cebu Pacific said the budget
carrier has cut flights from Cebu and Clark through December and
January respectively due to softened demand. She said the
airline nevertheless launched its Puerto Princesa-Hong Kong
route on Sunday as scheduled.
    A Jeju Air spokesman said the low-cost carrier has reduced
daily flights from Seoul to Hong Kong to one from two through
Dec. 17 due to weak demand. A spokesman for rival Jin Air said
the budget airline had suspended Seoul-Hong Kong flights through
Dec. 24.
    Last week, Hong Kong's biggest carrier, Cathay Pacific
Airways Ltd  0293.HK , said its business outlook was
"challenging and uncertain" and that it has cut capacity and
delayed four plane deliveries due to falling demand.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N27U1O3
    Major mainland Chinese carriers also reported double-digit
declines in demand on so-called regional routes in September and
October amid protests in Hong Kong and travel restrictions to
Taiwan, monthly traffic reports showed.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N27G3BH
    Routes Online on Monday said several Chinese carriers,
including Air China Ltd  601111.SS   0753.HK , China Eastern
Airlines Corp Ltd  600115.SS  and China Southern Airlines Co Ltd
 600029.SS  had filed for fresh capacity reductions to Hong Kong
since late October.
    China Eastern declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.
Air China and China Southern did not respond to requests for
comment.

    <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Security tight at HK university as hundreds of protesters
trapped on campus     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N27X0BQ
Hong Kong confirms economy fell into recession amid protests,
trade war     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N27U64K
Hong Kong's Cathay defers delivery of 4 Airbus planes as demand
falls     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N27U1O3
Chinese airlines hit by slides in demand on routes to Hong Kong,
Taiwan      urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N27G3BH
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
 (Reporting by Jamie Freed in Sydney; Additional reporting by
Stella Qiu in Beijing, Neil Jerome Morales in Manila, Heekyong
Yang in Seoul and Jessica Damiana in Jakarta; Editing by
Christopher Cushing)
 ((Jamie.Freed@thomsonreuters.com; +61 2 9321 8174;))