Originally Posted by rkkwan
But EWR-HKG has the longest flight time. In order to get the feed from other cities, the earliest it can depart is around noon, like EWR-PEK. That would get into HKG around 5pm. A 7pm departure at HKG will arrive EWR very late in the evening, and people can't connect to their final destinations.
That's why NW & UA all overnight their planes in HKG or other SE Asian airports. It's just the name of the game.
Having another US mainland-HKG flight is not going to help. IAH->HKG will take even longer than EWR->HKG, and the return flight will have similar time
I hope that CO is thinking ahead here. There are a few possibilities. One might be to beef up the offerings in the Pacific. I have noticed a lot of comments about GUM as an option--even a gateway to the mainland. I don't know if Hawaii is another option.
My real thought is for CO to think outside the box and build up an airport like LAX. Here's the idea.
B777/787 #1
EWR/HKG 1500/1850
HKG/LAX 2030/1400
LAX/LGW 1530/0945
LGW/EWR 1145/1445
Back the equipment goes to Europe; another piece of equipment wends its way to HKG.
B777/787 #2
LAX/HKG 0020/0615
HKG/EWR 1025/1405
I think that the B777 spends too much idle time in HKG. CO should think of opening a route to a different city in North America. I think LAX is a good choice: (i) there's a lot of originating traffic and (ii) it's somewhat underserved by ST. The only thing militating against LAX is, apparently, the CEO, who has told FTer's that a hub in LAX is not an option.
