Virgin Atlantic to AUS mid 2004
Dow Jones
Thursday November 27, 8:35 PM AEDT
HK Cathay Pacific/Virgin: Requires E.U. Approval
HONG KONG (Dow Jones)--Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. Hong Kong's biggest airline, Thursday won the right to serve the lucrative London-to-New York market, following three days of talks between the Hong Kong and U.K. governments.
In exchange, privately owned British carrier Virgin Atlantic will be allowed to extend its London to Hong Kong services to Sydney.
Government officials said Thursday that Hong Kong airlines would be given the right to fly to any point in the U.K., as well as fly between London and New York. While they didn't specify carriers, Hong Kong's only other major airline, Hong Kong Dragon Airlines only flies in the Asia-Pacific region.
A Cathay spokeswoman confirmed the talks had ended, but said approval was subject to agreement from the European Commission. It declined to comment further.
Virgin, in turn, issued a statement saying that while the flights would be subject to European Commission approval, they expected this to be granted so that flights can start in mid-2004.
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