By Joanne Chiu
HONG KONG--Regional carrier Hong Kong Airlines Ltd. may scrap
all of its orders for Airbus A380 superjumbo jets as part of its
effort to focus on short-haul routes.
The carrier has already scaled back an initial order for 10
A380s to "not more than five," and is in talks with Airbus about
either dropping the remaining orders or switching to another type
of aircraft, Hong Kong Airlines President Yang Jianhong told Dow
Jones Newswires on Thursday.
The carrier could opt for smaller A330 or A350 widebody aircraft
instead, and the discussions "could leave us without a single A380
on order," he added.
Airbus, a unit European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co.
(EAD.FR), said Thursday it doesn't comment on commercial
discussions with customers.
Hong Kong Airlines has been seeking to break the dominance of
bigger rival Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., but intensifying
competition and high fuel costs have forced it to stop operating
long-haul flights and focus mainly on regional flights to China and
other parts of Asia.
The carrier operates more than 20 Boeing and Airbus jets and
serves short-haul routes between Hong Kong and other leisure
destinations in Asia, including Thailand's Phuket, China's Sanya
and Japan's Osaka.
Hong Kong Airlines is backed by China's HNA Group Co., which
also controls China's fourth-largest carrier, Hainan Airlines
Co.
The airline's discussions with Airbus come as other Chinese
carriers have recently begun placing new orders with the European
company. An earlier dispute between the European Union and China
over the E.U.'s plans to impose carbon taxes on airlines flying to
or through the euro zone had led to a lull in aircraft orders from
Chinese carriers. The E.U. in mid-November said it would delay
implementation of the tax for a year.
In recent weeks, Airbus has sealed 70 aircraft orders from China
Eastern Airlines Corp. and China Southern Airlines Co. worth
US$7.27 billion at list prices.
Write to Joanne Chiu at joanne.chiu@wsj.com
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