Summary
- Hong Kong Airlines has expanded its network in Japan’s Kyushu region with the introduction of a brand new service to Kumamoto.
- The inaugural flight was celebrated with ceremonies at each airports, attended by officials and representatives.
- The airline goals to supply more diverse travel options and strengthen its presence in Japan.
Hong Kong Airlines (HKA) operated its first flight from Hong Kong to Kumamoto, Japan on Saturday. The brand new service can be offered thrice weekly and can increase its network within the country’s Kyushu region.
The carrier celebrated the inaugural flight with ceremonies at each airports, with several officials in attendance. Kumamoto became the airline’s seventh destination in Japan, complementing its existing service to Fukuoka and Nagoya.
Flight details
Based on FlightAware, HX686 was operated by an Airbus A320 and departed from gate 209 at Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) at 11:48 HKT. Commemorating the occasion, a ceremony was held on the gate featuring HKA’s senior management team and other representatives, resembling the Chief Director of the Kumamoto Prefectural Government Hong Kong Representative Office and officials from Hong Kong’s Airport Authority. They interacted with the flight’s first passengers and offered gifts to them.
Photo: Omid Behzadpour | Shutterstock
The aircraft was airborne by 12:02 and climbed to a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet. With a flying time of about two hours and half-hour, the plane arrived at Kumamoto Airport (KMJ) at around 15:40 JST. The aircraft was welcomed by a water cannon salute following one other ceremony, where HKA Chairman Jevey Zhang, KMJ’s President, the Vice Governor of Kumamoto Prefecture, and other guests attended.
“More diverse travel options”
Zhang commented on the brand new service on the celebratory ceremony.
“We’re very excited to reintegrate this popular destination into our expanding Japanese route network after so a few years. Kumamoto is our second recent destination within the Kyushu region, which complements our existing every day return flights to Fukuoka, connecting the northern and central parts of Kyushu and providing passengers with more diverse travel options. We also sit up for strengthening cooperation with Kumamoto, prefecture governments across Japan, various airport authorities, and business partners to launch flights to more Japanese destinations.”
The service will run weekly, with flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
Route |
Flight Number |
Departure Time |
Arrival Time |
Days of Operation |
---|---|---|---|---|
HKG-KMJ |
HX686 |
11:40 |
15:40 |
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday |
KMJ-HKG |
HX687 |
16:40 |
19:45 |
Photo: Airbus
Zhang further explained.
More flexibility
HKA’s Hong Kong-Kumamoto route boosts the airline’s amount of weekly flights to the Kyushu region. With its every day service to Fukuoka, the carrier will operate 10 flights per week to the region. The airline launched service to Fukuoka in April of this 12 months.
To offer enhanced flexibility for passengers, the airline said it optimized the departure and arrival times at Kumamoto and Fukuoka, that are only 66 miles apart.
the carrier said.
Elsewhere in Japan, HKA serves Okinawa, Osaka, Tokyo, Sapporo, and Nagoya, launched in July. The airline is anticipating that it’ll fully get well from the pandemic by summer of next 12 months.