Hong Kong Airways

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Not to be confused with Air Hong Kong, HK Express, Hong Kong Airlines, or Oasis Hong Kong Airlines.

Hong Kong Airways
Hong Kong Airways logo
Commenced operations1947
Ceased operations1959
Operating basesKai Tak Airport
Fleet size4
Destinations8
Parent companyBritish Overseas Airways Corporation (1947 – 30 November 1949)
Jardine Matheson & Co. (1947–1959, sole ownership after 1949)
HeadquartersBritish Hong Kong
Hong Kong Airways
Traditional Chinese香港航空
Simplified Chinese香港航空
JyutpingHoeng1 gong2 hong4 hung1

Hong Kong Airways (HKA) was a flag carrier of British Hong Kong during the late 1940s and 1950s.

Context of launch

In 1946, Jardine Air Maintenance Company (JAMCo) had been formed to serve the rapidly expanding portfolio of airlines serving Hong Kong, and Jardine Airways was formed as the general sales agent of BOAC and other carriers in Hong Kong and China. HKA was formed in 1947 by BOAC and Jardine Matheson & Co. (怡和). Jardines wanted to develop a Hong Kong carrier with the support of a enterprise backed by the British government. BOAC wanted to create a feeder carrier to transport passengers from their London to Hong Kong service to onward destinations in China and the Far East. Additionally, the British government wanted to develop a new market for British manufactured aircraft. Jardines was the general sales agent of HKA and became the owner before selling to government-backed partner BOAC.

Fight for air transport services in Hong Kong

In May 1949, an agreement was signed by Cathay Pacific (Jock Swire) and BOAC (on behalf of Hong Kong Airways) along Governor Alexander Grantham's lines of route allocation to each party. Cathay secured the valuable routes of Bangkok, Singapore, Haiphong, Saigon, Sandakan, Jesselton, Labuan, and Rangoon (with an extension possible to Calcutta). This left HKA with Canton, Macao, Shanghai and Tientsin, not, after all, Japan.[clarification needed][citation needed]

On 1 December 1949, BOAC sold Hong Kong Airways back to Jardines,[1] but it soon ran for cover to another 'big brother', in a charter association with the American company Northwest Airlines for its Taipei and Tokyo services.[clarification needed][citation needed]

In 1953, the British government attempted to form a single regional airline by bringing about a merger between BOAC, Cathay Pacific, and Hong Kong Airways. This eventually led to Cathay Pacific taking over Hong Kong Airways on 1 July 1959, with BOAC getting 15 per cent of Cathay Pacific's shares and a seat on the Board.[citation needed]

Legacy

On 1 November 1950, JAMco merged with Swire/Cathay Pacific maintenance interests to form HAECO, with Jardines receiving a parcel of HAECO shares, though this gradually waned. HKA itself merged with Cathay Pacific on 1 July 1959. Jardine Airways remained the exclusive General Sales Agent in Hong Kong for British Airways until the year 2000.[citation needed]

Another Jardine affiliate, Eupo Air (歐亞) chartered seats for distribution primarily amongst the Chinese community on British Airways flights on the Hong Kong to London route from 1983 to 2002, a similar partnership to that of HKA and Northwest Airlines in the 1950s.[citation needed]

As of 2013, Jardines' largest aviation interest in Hong Kong is its ground handling business, Jardine Aviation Services. However, Eupo Air still partners with British Airways and Jardine Travel to provide retail agency service, and corporate travel & expense management.[citation needed]

As of 2013, the Swire Group is still the principal shareholder in Cathay Pacific. Dragonair, now owned by Cathay Pacific as Cathay Dragon, is flying some of the routes originally pioneered by HKA.[needs update][citation needed]

Fleet

Hong Kong Airways operated a fleet of aircraft including:

Destinations

Incidents and accidents

  • On 11 July 1949, a Hong Kong Airways Douglas DC-3 (VR-HDQ) from Hong Kong to Canton, overran the runway during takeoff at Kai Tak Airport and crashed into the water. The aircraft sank after rescue operations. There were 11 occupants on board the aircraft, including three crew and eight passengers,[citation needed] with no fatalities reported.[2]

References

  1. ^ "B.O.A.C. Sell Out in Hong Kong". Dundee Courier. British Newspaper Archive. 28 November 1949. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Accident description – Douglas C-47A-40-DL VR-HDQ". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. 6 August 2009. Archived from the original on 26 May 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "The World's Airlines". Flight. Reed Business Information. 21 May 1954. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
  4. ^ "Civil Aviation News". Flight. Reed Business Information. 21 October 1948. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
  5. ^ "Hong Kong-Shanghai Service". Flight. Reed Business Information. 1 January 1948. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
  6. ^ a b "Hong Kong". Flight. Reed Business Information. 22 August 1958. Retrieved 6 August 2009.

pg 117 of "Beyond Lion Rock" Young, Gavin 1988 pg 236 of "The Thistle & the Jade" Keswick, Maggie Ed. 1982

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