ab2013

I'd be surprised if they actually restarted SEA-HKG. Leadership at DL has gone on record (either on an earnings call or investors conference - forgot) saying that they lost about $20M/yr every year the route was operated. What's changed? PS and the new Airbuses? The new IAF at SEA?

lsquare

The new Airbuses are more fuel efficient. How about selecting better departure time for both HKG and SEA? I think previously departed from HKG at around 10 AM. Way too early! I want to finish having breakfast at the hotel before bolting for the airport.

lsquare

Maybe my memory isn't good, but was it not reported somewhere that Kai Tak is challenging to land?

garykung

A challenging landing does not equate incident. And CI's trouble with HKG, both current and old, is well-documented. In fact - the only fatalities occurred in the current HKG were resulted by CI.

Having CI as partner, DL must find a smart way to get back to HKG.

KDCAflyer

I just don�t see it. Hong Kong�s economic glory days are behind it, and the CCP�s steady reduction in freedoms/autonomy creates a lot of longer term uncertainty. Cathay Pacific has a stranglehold on the HKG long-haul market, and it�s not like they were hugely profitable even when times were good.

Delta knows a loser when it sees it, and I�d wager that even if they had 787s, they still wouldn�t serve HKG. There are just better places to make money.

garykung

Don't blame everything on CCP. DL's failure at HKG was mainly due to its own mistakes.

DL has A359.

MSPeconomist

Let's not forget that SQ had (pre-pandemic) been operating a TPAC flight from HKG. In fact, it had been generally somewhat easier to get award tickets from SIN connecting through HKG compared to going nonstop from SIN to the USA.

lsquare

IMO, HKG isn't a bad place to spend a couple of hours.

NOLAnwGOLD

My last trip to HKG, we took VS LAX-LHR-HKG-:LHR-LAX in PE, which was long but great. Love VS and the clubhouses at LAX (so sad it's closed!) & LHR.

uanj

It seems incredible but at their peak NW had 4 daily flights from NRT-HNL, UA even had 3 for a short time. Plus all the other intra-Asian and US flights. The amount of international traffic that NW and UA had out of Japan is hard to imagine today.

Your memory is good! I never heard good things about the HKG-JFK from UA staff so I don't think it quite took hold. And 9-11 took care of that and many other routes.

In the early naughts there were not a lot of good options to fly from JFK-YVR. CX flew with internationally configured business and first class cabins competing with AC and their domestic first class seats. We were filming a lot of TVCs in YVR for North America at the time. I remember asking for an audit when our NY based creative agency was consistently sending twice as many people from NY to Vancouver to film a commercial compared to when they filmed in Toronto. Turns out they were flying everyone on CX, mostly in international first! YVR film assignments had become quite popular.

That did not last long. I remember interviewing someone in HKG who had been laid off by DL and she was quite bitter, they were not given a lot of notice. But DL back then bears no resemblance to the DL of today.

UA had been trying to get international flight rights without a lot of success in the 70s and 80s. They were able to bid and get SEA-NRT, SEA-HKG, and I think PDX-SEL and SEA-SEL in the early 80s. Not long after the first flights they finally got approval to buy Pan Am's Pacific division and were required to divest their 2-3 operating Pacific flights. Which they happily did. I remember in 83 walking past all the Pan Am counters in Kai Tak to reach the few for UA thinking how strange it was for a "domestic" US airline to be there.

But as for today, I do not imagine DL has a high priority on resuming HKG service. I think most of the Pacific will be wait and see how things evolve in the post pandemic world..

lsquare

How much you paid for that trip? Not aware of many people flying to HK from LAX eastward.

flyerCO

If the fare is right they will. I've done SFO/LAX-AMS-BKK/SIN/HKG when KLM offers a J sale.

lsquare

Man, that's awesome. Must be really nice to spend that much time flying around the world in J.

travelinmanS

I could think of better things to do than spend 24 hours in KLM�s business class 😂

HKG isn�t coming back anytime soon for DL. PVG is obviously their focus in China. Also I don�t believe anywhere in China will be as hassle free to get to as it was before Covid came and that includes HKG. The days of TWOV on the mainland and free and easy entry into HKG are gone for the foreseeable future.

flyerCO

It's better than being in Y!

I fly BIS miles of around 250k a year normally. (Not all Skyteam,) I went to school to be a commercial pilot. I have my license, but due to injury will never again be able to get the medical needed for commercial pilot. Thus I love being in the air, even if sadly not flying the plane itself. (Can still get the medical to fly non-commercial as that's less rigorous)