some people said OASIS HK might shut down tomorrow

[st7860]

http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/general_aviation/read.main/3925897/

"Just read the Hong Kong ecnomic Times that Oasis Hong Kong Airlines 'MAY' shut down as of Wednesday Hong Kong time. The newspaper sited heavy loses of over 100 million dollars (HK$ or US$ ???) and no prospect of making money. (see www.hket.com (http://www.hket.com/) but it is in Chinese only).
This so called news in fact has been circulating in Hong Kong for about 7 days. Oasis recently as late as December had a major share holder change, and up till now cannot find any replacement investors. Only very few outsiders were aware of the changes in share holders, but news like this will leak sooner or later.
My sources told me that once the B747 departed YVR today at 1700 hrs, it will then terminate in HKG, and will not turn around to UK. Similarly the UK flight after landed in HKG will stop operations. So far no one at Oasis office here in Canada or in HKG is responding to the news.
Bad news for any ticket holders !!
"

[Cpt. Underpants]

I don't believe ticket holders will lose anything - part of the ticket price includes a levy to the HKSAR Government which insures against failures, shutdowns, etc. Should O8 fold (and I sincerely hope it doesn't) ticket holders are insured. The same can't be said for creditors.

[st7860]

now they're saying that HK radio has announced it as fact, a few minutes ago. I don't have access to HK radio so i dont know.

[HotDog]

I have listened to the RTHK 0600 and 0900 news; no mention of Oasis at all.

[ALPHA FLOOR]

It is only the HONG KONG ECONOMIC TIMES carring this story in HKG today. All other media streams not carrying this story- Oasis website has no announcement - RTHK radio news at 10:00am didn't mention it........

I tried phoning the pax enquiry number 36280628 but it stays engaged.

Hope they make it -

AFL

[I'mbatman]

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUSB66362620080409

[TruBlu351]

Sorry, all our lines are still busy..............our customer service representitive will answer your call as soon as possible! Damn it :ugh:

[Intransitgent]

DJ Oasis Hong Kong Airlines To Announce End Of Business - Report2008/04/09 10:04HONG KONG (Dow Jones)--Budget carrier Oasis Hong Kong Airlines Ltd. will announce Wednesday it is ending its business due to an accumulated loss of HK$1 billion since it was launched in October 2006, the Hong Kong Economic Times reported Wednesday, citing unnamed sources. The paper, quoting the sources, said Oasis priced its fares so low it couldn't cover half of its costs. Oasis couldn't immediately be reached for comment. According to the Hong Kong Airport Authority's Web site, an Oasis flight departed for London at 1700 GMT Tuesday as scheduled, and an Oasis plane is expected to arrive in Hong Kong at 0700 GMT Wednesday.

Newspaper Web site: http://www.hket.com (http://www.hket.com/) -By Hong Kong Bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; 852-2802-7002;


The above posted by Dow Jones Newswires earlier this morning ...

[TruBlu351]

15 minutes later...........I just reconfirmed my May tickets........"All operations normal? nothing to worry about"

So you're not closing down tomorrow?........."No"

So I don't need to buy tickets on another airline?......."No"

So the papers & internet are full of crap?........"Yes"

...........the plot thickens :ok:

[csd]

SCMP now quoting the Reuters article.

[Humber10]

well it appears their phone lines are now really busy..... hopefully, for all of us, just a bad rumour.

just got off the ph with them, and was told ops normal... WTF

[beerboy]

Spoken to two oasis cabin crew..they were told to not go to work tomorrow..

[Baywatcher]

Tried to book on line for a month from now and no seats available! How sad to see them go under

[ALPHA FLOOR]

Trying to book online and no matter the date or class, this is the message displayed:
http://fly.oasishongkong.com/images/sys/_global/ico_formerror.gif Sorry, there are no available flights on the date(s) you have requested.

I bet our ex-FCRM T.P is sorry he jumped ship on the 31st of March!

[Sand Man]

There were plenty of on-line seats at 9am this morning but now they have all disappeared. Does not look got for O8.:sad:

[cpahka]

Press conference @1400:{

[st7860]

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustryMaterialsUtilitiesNews/idUSHKG17584020080409?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

[Park n Shop]

What a shame some really good people there and I know of a couple in London doing type ratings for them as we speak.
A flood of 744 drivers on the market hopefully they will all get jobs.
I wonder if the Aviator/Slashers will go bust aswell.

[otrendycar]

im worrying those ex-Cx pilots who jumped ship to there. perhaps they have made a really bad decision there.

[N1 Vibes]

Very sorry to see things not going well. Airlines like CX/BA/QF need a bit of competition down the back, and cities like HKG need home grown alternatives to the encumbent 'leviathan'.

Good Luck All,

N1 Vibes (Working to bring the system down from the inside)

[ALPHA FLOOR]

The 9th floor celebrating with the finest champaigne and cuban cigars - O8 lawyers at the Highcourts at this hour filling for liquidation order.

[wakehead]

I hope all you guys/gals find jobs again soon. What a crap position to be in, having been there before. Good luck!

[Night Watch]

This is truly a sad day for HKG Aviation.... Wish all the best to the crew that will lose their job!

[otrendycar]

the management page has been removed

http://www.oasishongkong.com/error/404.htm?aspxerrorpath=/hk/en/aboutus/team.aspx

Its sad, cant believe how difficult to maintain the business in this small region.

[missingblade]

I have a feeling most if not all of the drivers will find new employment easily - especially with Emirates and the likes. Cx will prob take a few on the freighter - as well as a lot of the groundstaff.

Overall a sad thing to see happen but at least the market is such that most of the people will find something else quite easily.

It does help that the property market is healthy for all those guys who have big mortgages.....:ok:

[GlueBall]

The top dog managers obviously are all crooks, cooking the books and running the company into the ground with investors' money, but quietly stuffing their pockets without giving a hint of trouble. . . . :{

[VinnieC]

Well, the first long haul LLC attempt has failed. Couldn't make it pass 3 years.

[Edmund Spencer]

Confirmed, all operations suspended with immediate effect.
RTHK News 14:00
ES

[FairlieFlyer]

Well for all those who said it was financially sound right up to recently, suggest you get a new login....

As these are anonymous forums the origins of the contributions may be opposite to what may be apparent.

[Cpt. Underpants]

What a shame. My thoughts go out to all the guys and girls whose lives have been plunged into chaos by this unfortunate turn of events. This is no time to celebrate - for anyone. Bon chance mes amis.

[Runway101]

http://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/news/englishnews/news.htm?englishnews&20080409&56&481233

[Runway101]

the management page has been removed

Use this one:
http://web.archive.org/web/20070829145147/http://www.oasishongkong.com/hk/en/aboutus/team.aspx

[no sponsor]

Thanks for links to the management team. Is it just me, or does that team seem to lack solid experience of running an airline. Most seem to be in commercial property; the CEO founded Dragonair, but after that, he's down as a consultant for 10+ years.

[devon_guy]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7338424.stm Just been announced by the BBC.

[JY9024]

A sad day indeed

My thoughts go out to all the staff and their families.

JY

[VMMC34]

NX is next...

[CRWCRW]

HK budget airline collapses, hitting 30,000 travellers and 700 staff Quinton Chan and Dennis Eng
Updated on Apr 10, 2008 Budget airline Oasis Hong Kong, which collapsed yesterday, was on the brink of a rescue package when it was discovered that its chairman had pledged his shares in the carrier as collateral for a personal loan, a source familiar with the situation said.
The source said the discovery was made during the final stages of negotiations with HNA Group, parent group of Hainan Airlines, which had been prepared to buy out Oasis.
"You can say that he derailed the airline," the source said, referring to chairman the Reverend Raymond Lee Cho-min, who held about 60 per cent of shares in the company. It was unclear how many shares Mr Lee had pledged as collateral. He was not available for comment last night.
The rescue deal failed, prompting the world's first budget long-haul airline to file for provisional liquidation, affecting 30,000 ticket-holders and leaving 700 staff facing an uncertain future. Reports said losses had reached HK$1 billion since the airline launched services in October 2006. It is the fourth airline worldwide to cease operations in the past two weeks.
The ambitious start-up airline struggled to attract fresh capital up to the last minute, but told the government late on Tuesday that discussions with a potential investor had collapsed. The administration had learned of the airline's financial difficulties on Saturday.
Oasis sought protection from the High Court yesterday morning and accounting firm KPMG was appointed provisional liquidator. The 700 staff have been paid up to March 31.
All passenger services were suspended immediately, forcing the government to send staff to London and Vancouver to liaise with stranded passengers. An estimated 30,000 passengers are believed to be holding tickets for which they have paid a total of HK$300 million.
A flight from Vancouver, which landed in Hong Kong at about 10.30 last night, was the airline's last.
Cathay Pacific and British Airways are offering Oasis passengers on the London route concessionary prices. Ticket-holders can also contact Singapore Airlines for services to London, and Air Canada and China Airlines for the Vancouver route.
"KPMG will be looking for new investors for the airline in the next few days and we are very confident somebody will come forward," Oasis chief executive Stephen Miller said.
He did not specify why Oasis declared insolvency. Budget carrier AirAsia and various takeover funds were being touted last night by market observers as possible buyers of Oasis assets. However, AirAsia chief executive Tony Fernandes denied his budget carrier was interested.
KPMG head of restructuring services Edward Middleton said he had yet to evaluate the finances of Oasis and could not comment on media reports that losses had reached HK$1 billion.
A government source said last night the administration would consider measures to control bookings made well in advance. Airlines could be required to place a deposit in a fund before being allowed to take bookings for travel several months or even years ahead, the source said.

Hopes were high that Oasis, as a full-service airline, would help break the market dominance enjoyed by rival Cathay Pacific.

Oasis is the first passenger airline to go bankrupt in Hong Kong. In October 1988, local freight carrier Transcorp Airways closed its operations.

[CRWCRW]

Updated on Apr 10, 2008 Last night, this open letter was issued by the chairman of Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, the Reverend Raymond Lee Cho-min and his wife, Priscilla, in response to the collapse of the budget carrier. It read:
"It is with extreme sadness in our hearts that we announced to you today that Oasis Hong Kong Airlines has just applied to the court and the court has appointed KPMG as our provisional liquidator. It is our wish and goal that during this period when our company's assets are being preserved and our debts are being restructured that the right financial/strategic "white knight" will come along to bring this company to new heights in the very near future.
What saddened our hearts the most is that we are letting down the many precious passengers from Hong Kong and from around the world, the many co-workers and partners that we deeply love and cherish, and without whom we would never have been here in the first place. We are deeply sorry for the difficulties and grief that this event has caused many. One thing we want to assure you is that all of us have done our very best and have exhausted every possible option under the sun before we came to this most difficult decision and action of our lives.
When this airline began, [chief executive] Stephen Miller's business plan was based on aircraft rental, and not aircraft purchase. The original business plan required only US$25 million to achieve profitability. However, during our ATLA licence application process, as we faced opposition from our competitors for almost six months, our rental aircraft were then snatched away by other competition, and we have had to purchase aircraft instead of renting them. This placed a huge strain on the group's financial resources.
In the following months, the hike of the oil prices has also affected us severely. As a newly started airline, we have found it next to impossible to obtain a credit facility from financial institutions to carry out fuel-hedging programmes. We only managed to hedge once successfully. As oil prices sharply increased, the fuel costs took up the majority of our budget. Just in the last two weeks, at least four airlines around the world have made announcements to stop trading or shut down completely due to huge oil price hikes and [the] difficult financial climate.
On top of all this, we also faced relentless competitive response from every direction, aiming to crush us for good. And only until very recently, we have had great difficulty recruiting top local aviation talent to join us, and we have had to go to great lengths to hunt for the right personnel we need from all around the world.
We dearly love Hong Kong and are proud to be members of the Hong Kong family. It has been and will continue to be our wish and prayer that all 7 million Hong Kong people can go and see the world and that the world's travellers are brought to Hong Kong in huge numbers. Therefore, we seek your help, support and prayers that the right `white knight' comes forward soon during this critical period to put this airline back to full strength for the good of all of Hong Kong and to take it to higher heights.
Again, please accept our deepest apologies for the inconvenience and trouble that this halt in our service has caused you and your loved ones."

[Kitsune]

So this 'white knight' is supposed to bail out an airline in the current hostile climate that is alleged to have a billion dollar black hole, staff unpaid since 31st March, no 'world class management', no fuel hedging, an entrenched monopoly competitor, purchased aircraft depreciating (unless the 787 debacle increases their price for a while) and a disenchanted pax base bound to be suspicious of laying out their hard earned and increasingly scarce spare cash having been bitten once. Despite how truly sorry I feel for the people of all persuasions that have lost their jobs, methinks that the 'white knight' will have to have a white stick....:sad:

[wayne's tache]

superbly put, Kitusune.

Perhaps the good Reverend will have to wave the white flag to his white knight in terms of accepting only a few cents on his invested dollar.

I had heard that the investment basis for Oasis was separated between the operating company and a separate entity that owns the aircraft. So perhaps the Reverend is protesting too much about having to actually buy the aircraft in the first place? He may still be holding some kind of tradeable asset - more than his cherished passengers, at least. This might be why the VC firm that put in $20m in October reckons it has some kind of come back on the liquidation? All of this is conjecture.

Clearly he is hoping that this "halt" in service will come to an end. Probably with HNA Group buying in? If so, the quality of management is unlikely to improve. Anyway, as lead shareholder, what was he doing accepting a low calibre of management in the first place?

The fact is that - outside of CX - management quality in Hong Kong airlines is very weak. I say this with full knowledge of the risk of the howl of protest from the hundreds of arm chair management experts who refer to anyone without a type rating as a "bean counter". Oasis didn't count its beans very well, did it?

Good people who leave CX go into other industries (and perhaps logistics etc). So the other carriers get CX/KA retirees and people who saw the writing on the wall in terms of their own career progression.

And, anyway, strictly speaking the best LCCs do not rely on traditional airline managers to run their businesses in the first place. The full service guys don't have the right mindset, at least for the majority of non-operational positions.

[Neptunus Rex]

Kitusune,

Fair analysis, except for the salaries. The staff as you say have been paid up to 31 March. That means they have been paid on time as normal.

Now, Hainan Airlines were negotiating a deal to buy Oasis until they discovered that the Reverend Lee had used his Oasis shares, of which he held 60%, as collateral for a personal loan. They backed out and KPMG has been appointed as liquidator. Hainan (with George Soros an established investor) could presumably buy Oasis for a much lower price than was being sought last week.

Oasis is, by all accounts, an airline with top staff, equipment and morale. Add to that their AOC, Route licences to UK, Canada and Australia, plus the slots at Hong Kong International, surely any reasonable offer to the liquidators must have great appeal to a company wanting to get a foot in the door in Hong Kong.

With four 744s flying two sectors per day, the quoted loss of one million $HK per day is less than $500 per passenger. Just increase the fares by ~ $800 per passenger and the new company would be in profit. The fares would still be way lower than the majors.

I think that Oasis could yet recover, to the chagrin of some other Hong Kong operators. Let's hope so for all the guys and gals who made it what it was.

Cheers,

Neppie :ok:

[woftam]

Neppie,
My thoughts as well.
Although the fat lady has well and truly warmed up her vocal chords,she has not yet broken into song. ;)
I am led to believe there are a few "White Knights" keeping their powder dry for the moment. When the dust settles there may be some interesting developments. :E

[airfoilmod]

If I had a stake in a struggling airline, I'd be tempted to double fares. I may lose half my loads to Price Buster Air, but my gross stays the same. The loads increase at the cheapos, and their ability to provide dissipates. Ultimately, my pax are the ones who value safety, less drama, and wear shoes and clothing. No government ReRegulation needed. Free market prevails, as it always does, when courageous leaders and employees make a stand. (Speculators destroy everything they touch, Mr. Soros?)

[st7860]

it might have made sense for oasis to charge only $300 for a one way economy ticket, but $999 for one way business class(with a 10 year old seat too) was rather strange. even $2000 for a one way business class seat would be reasonable, IF the seat was newer.

[Kitsune]

Continuing to pay the crews is a masterstroke, and shows that KPMG knows that if the crews go, the chance of recruiting and maintaining currency in new staff will be impossible. Once again, at the risk of antagonizing those already in a desperate situation, which is NOT my purpose:
No matter who the white knight is (even Mr Soros, who is not known for wasting his dosh), you have to question if the long haul (remembering that not so long ago YVR ~ HKG and HKG ~ LGW used to be called ULTRA long haul) low cost carrier model is viable.
I suggest that the balance is that your prices have to be low enough to ensure that pax will sit for 12 hours in a REAL economy seat with NO frills, and will pay cash for everything else. For this to work you need to pack 'em in down the back, so the J/EY balance, if there is to be a J class, is very very tight. 600 EY pax in a -400 at b*gger all each might just do it....(You have to remember that you could travel LHR-HKG-LHR for £388 with BA over the last couple of years).
This model has worked on short and medium haul for SouthWest and that tosser O'Leary, but long haul?
The brains at CX (all of whom work for Swines and are NOT based anywhere near HKG) insist that this model is just not workable... and so far this has proved correct.
I also suggest that any white knight will be pursuing completely different aims with a HKG AOC than low cost long haul, but only time will tell.:cool:

[Avius]

Well if the price is right, a clever buyer might eventually surface. Oasis has definitely some great assets to offer at a bargain price. With some ingredients and change of direction - ie. away from the Low Cost, the Airline can prosper and provide a much needed competitor in HKG.

I guess the minds are currently assessing the Oasis' value and taking into consideration the outstanding debt, etc. A potential buyer can not have any serious negotiations without knowing the numbers.

New Airline of the Year 2007 in its first year of operation shows that there is some definite commitment and spirit amongst the employees, which is the companies greatest asset.

It would be a shame to waste it..

One way or another, let us hope this ordeal has some sort of closure to it soon.

[Kitsune]

Damned right!! :D:D:D

[st7860]

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/business/story.html?id=dfb2cac4-27df-4b99-a8ad-4a7410953355
Customers stormed into M's Travel offices in Richmond on Wednesday seeking answers after Oasis Hong Kong Airlines abruptly announced it was in liquidation and had cancelled all flights. Other agencies specializing in tours and tickets to the China region reported the same response as Vancouver-based executives for the failed airline directed all communication to closed offices and switched off cellphone contact numbers in Hong Kong.
"Of course, it has been non-stop," said M's Travel president Philip Mak. One client at M's Landsdowne location, a university student, had just been in to book her ticket the day before. In January, she booked one ticket for use in July and bought another ticket on Tuesday, sinking a total of $4,600 in what are now useless tickets.
Last summer, Oasis ignited a frenzy of travel from Vancouver to Hong Kong, offering one-way airfares as low as $200. Airports in both cities soon reported significantly higher traffic on the route, by more than 50 per cent on some counts.



The cheap prices not only brought a new set of travelers, but encouraged repeat trip-takers, including some who were going back and forth two or three times in as many months. Metro Vancouver retailers and restaurants catering to Chinese clientele actually attributed a slump in sales to what they called the Oasis phenomenon.
At Silkway Travel, a travel agency with Hong Kong roots and eight branches across Metro Vancouver, president Paulus Ng admitted "that because we have the most branches and serve the most people in this market, we will be one of the hardest hit."
Even though sales had been brisk, Ng said that from the beginning, he had concerns about Oasis's very low fares. "We actually had a dedicated person in our accounting department who only handled Oasis payments, because we had to push to keep the accounts updated. If they owed us, we had to chase them. Our last cheque was two weeks ago and covered [commissions made on tickets sold] to mid-February."
"So, [Oasis] owes us a significant amount," said Ng, declining to be more specific.
It is estimated that there are tens of thousands of passengers, perhaps as many as 30,000, in Hong Kong, London and Vancouver who have been left stranded by the Oasis shutdown.
KPMG, the consulting firm overseeing Oasis' liquidation, said that flights to London from Hong Kong in the next few days had all been fully booked. Out of Vancouver, however, the last Oasis flight on Tuesday night was only about 20 per cent full, according to Ng's clients.
Nevertheless, Ng thinks that among his clientele alone, there are about 1,500 round-trip tickets from Vancouver to Hong Kong that have been paid for in full.
In Hong Kong, the government's secretary for transportation and housing, Eva Cheng, said that Oasis filed for liquidation after talks with a possible investor broke down.
Oasis had not disclosed the extent of the airline's losses, but in an open letter released Wednesday night in Hong Kong, the company's founders Raymond and Priscilla Lee said that Oasis's original business plan was based on aircraft rental, not purchase.

However, "as we faced opposition from our competitors for almost six months, our rental aircraft were then snatched away by other competition, and we have had to purchase aircraft instead of renting them. This placed a huge strain on the group's financial resources.
"The hike of the oil prices has also affected us severely. As a newly started airline, we have found it next to impossible to obtain a credit facility from financial institutions to carry out fuel-hedging programs. We only managed to hedge once successfully. As oil prices sharply increased, the fuel costs took up the majority of our budget. . . . On top of all this, we also faced relentless competitive response from every direction, aiming to crush us for good."

At the urging of the Hong Kong government for help for stranded passengers, Cathay Pacific Airway is offering a special one-way economy class fare of $320.
To qualify, customers must be booked and ticketed by Oasis for travel to Hong Kong between now and April 23. At the same time, Air Canada is offering a more general, special one-way airfare of $299. In Vancouver, customers can try Oasis at 1-888-983-0808. Customers in Hong Kong who hold return tickets back to Vancouver can also try calling Oasis's hotline number at 852-3628-0628.

[Absolutely Fabulous]

unfortunately a HK AOC is'nt worth very much

despite the usual ramblings of entrenched monopoly the truth of the matter is that the so called home carrier in HK account for only 30% of movements into and out of HK.

the LCC model does not work well in HK at the moment and through no fault of the government or the incumbent airline

there's no domestic market, no secondary airports, no glut of experience aviation personnel, so all that is left for any new entrant is the same fuel prices, same landing fees, same route charges, and same high labout cost

now, when you take these options and charge low fares, well, it becomes a recipe for disaster

no businessmen, worth his salt, will entertain such a business plan and it seems the Rev was blinkered into a "good thing" with a wing and a prayer

well, the wing has stalled but the prayer continues

best of luck to all staff

[Kitsune]

Dragonair...down the tubes (twice)
Air Hong Kong....down the tubes
Oasis.....down the tubes.....
Yep, you're right, an entrenched monopoly doesn't have any effect on competitors:hmm:

[wayne's tache]

True enough, CX has an entrenched position.

But KA and Air Hong Kong both ended up being acquired by CX at a time when they were struggling (especially AHK, I think). Cathay didn't want to risk somebody else picking up the businesses and then making a go of them in their own backyard. They paid up to maintain that protected position.

I am not sure if the context now allows for a similar escape route for Oasis, with fuel prices, the economic cycle and various other elements making them a difficult sell.

So it would need either somebody suitably over-optimistic or an airline realist with the deepest pockets and a readiness to tough it out. No doubt SQ is not too happy with the Air China/CX maneouverings around China Eastern; Oasis might offer an opportunity to stir up some trouble in their rivals' backyard. On the other hand, it would be expensive and SQ has a shocking track record in buying stakes in other airlines.

Otherwise, perhaps EK might take a look? It clearly has the funds and the ambition, although a HKG based entity would seem to detract from its aim to set up Dubai as the global aviation crossroads.

Also, there may be regulatory constraints in all of this. If a bigger player did come in, CX would go ballistic. The fact is that Oasis was ideal for them; a "competitor" on a couple of routes that was never going to do too much damage but could be held out as evidence of a level playing field.

[western bronco]

Scrap the low cost longhaul plan..waste of time.

Needs someone with very deep pockets (like Branson) to set Oasis up as a good quality product to Cathay, where lets face it the customer is not entirely happy.

Best way forward is to make Oasis the airline that Virgin is to BA....a viable alternative to the green monster!

[st7860]

why would air canada offer unlimited flights to HK for $1088 until june 15 AFTER OASIS already shut down. it doesnt make sense.


http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/438/flightpassgi2.jpg

[jtr]

"Hey is that Air Canada eh? I ringing up aboot them $1088 tickets eh. I wanna go to Hong Kong on the 25th April eh"

I am sorry sir, we have completely sold out of the discounted seats on that flight, the best I can offer you is...

[CV880]

To the best of my knowledge the Oasis aircraft ,particlarly the first 2, are owned by Oasis Growth and Investment Limited which is the Rev Lee's HK based investment company and from whence the "Oasis" in the airline's name originates and are "loaned or leased" to the airline.
Again, to the best of my knowledge CX bought both AHK and KA to prevent mainland Chnese airlines from acquiring them and getting a foothold in HK. Similarly the deal with CNAC acquiring a large shareholding in KA in the mid 90's was partly aimed at stopping CNAC from starting up a HK based operation which they were planning. It also helped pay for the move to CLK. I think CX was quite happy to let both AHK and KA go bust and pick up the attractive pieces later if it wasn't for the threat of mainland interests getting hold of a HK carrier.

[Kitsune]

CV880, all perfectly correct, and of course why KA picked up PEK and SHA (the two most lucrative routes at the time except for CX751). Given this history I think this story may run and run......at least the guys and gals are being paid while they work this out, (according to several drunken conversations in the Slashers last night)......:}