Hong Kong Airlines Launching Nonstop A350 Service to LAX
If you haven't traveled through Hong Kong (HKG) within the last few years, there's a very good chance you've never heard of Hong Kong Airlines (I'll refer to it using its airline code HX for short). The airport's most ubiquitous tenant is Cathay Pacific, of course, but decade-old regional carrier HX is making a push for long-haul service, having recently launched a flight to Vancouver (YVR) and sharing plans for another major North American destination.
HX's current service is fairly limited, as evidenced by the airline's route map — with its own flights labeled in blue:
Come December 18, 2017, you'll be seeing HX's livery on US soil, when the carrier begins flying to Los Angeles (LAX). The flight will be operated by the Airbus A350-900 — and with a total of 21 on order, we're likely to see the carrier announce other destinations (perhaps even more in the US) soon. The planes are reportedly being configured with 33 seats in a 1-2-1 configuration in business class and 301 in economy.
Flights will operate every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday through January 15, 2018, at which point HX will move to a daily schedule, with departures as follows:
- HX069 Los Angeles (LAX) 10:45am Departure ⇒ Hong Kong (HKG) 6:20pm (+1) Arrival
- HX068 Hong Kong (HKG) 12:10pm Departure ⇒ Los Angeles (LAX) 8:55am Arrival
This new route is now available to book, and even shows up on Google Flights. I'm seeing round-trip fares from LAX starting at $743 in economy and $4,675 in business class, which are a hair lower than LAX's existing flights to Hong Kong, including one on American's 777-300ER and up to four operated by Cathay Pacific.
HX has a frequent flyer program called Fortune Wings Club, and offers award flights on all of its routes, including LAX. A round-trip economy award will run you 65,000 miles, while business class goes for 125,000. You can earn points by flying HX and on some Virgin Australia flights, along with select partners (primarily for Hong Kong residents). The airline isn't part of an alliance, so unfortunately redemption opportunities are limited for flyers based in the US.
Will you be booking a flight on Hong Kong Airlines?
Featured image of Hong Kong Airlines' A350 in production courtesy of Alex Macheras.
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