LearX
7th Aug 2003, 21:41
Dragonair Schedule Signals SARS Recovery
Air travel in Asia is showing such a swift recovery from the SARS outbreak that Dragonair is restoring all its services to mainland China next month.
It will be the first time the Hong Kong-based airline has been able fly a full schedule since April. The August schedule will also see increased frequencies to 15 destinations.
"With the containment of SARS and a range of special offers we have seen a rapid improvement in the market in the last few weeks," said the airline's Chief Executive Officer Stanley Hui. "There has been strong demand among independent travelers and this is being followed by a pick-up in group travel.
Mr Hui warned, however, that yields, as expected, are lower than in the period before the SARS outbreak and will take some time to recover.
Among the destinations seeing increased frequencies are Beijing, with 42 services a week up from 28; Shanghai, 60 flights a week up from 53; and Taipei, which will have 22 flights a week, up from 21.
As a result of the increases, Dragonair will be operating 82 percent of its original summer schedule. Flights to Hiroshima and Sendai in Japan are the only services that remain suspended.
Air travel in Asia is showing such a swift recovery from the SARS outbreak that Dragonair is restoring all its services to mainland China next month.
It will be the first time the Hong Kong-based airline has been able fly a full schedule since April. The August schedule will also see increased frequencies to 15 destinations.
"With the containment of SARS and a range of special offers we have seen a rapid improvement in the market in the last few weeks," said the airline's Chief Executive Officer Stanley Hui. "There has been strong demand among independent travelers and this is being followed by a pick-up in group travel.
Mr Hui warned, however, that yields, as expected, are lower than in the period before the SARS outbreak and will take some time to recover.
Among the destinations seeing increased frequencies are Beijing, with 42 services a week up from 28; Shanghai, 60 flights a week up from 53; and Taipei, which will have 22 flights a week, up from 21.
As a result of the increases, Dragonair will be operating 82 percent of its original summer schedule. Flights to Hiroshima and Sendai in Japan are the only services that remain suspended.