Hong Kong Airlines to restart Vancouver flights in early 2025 | Daily Hive

Aircraft of Hong Kong Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and United Airlines at Hong Kong International Airport. (Wangkun Jia/Shutterstock)

There will soon be a third airline option to travel non-stop between Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and Hong Kong International Airport (HKG).

Hong Kong Airlines announced today it will resume its Vancouver flight service, nearly five years after it pulled out of the market as part of its global retraction.

The airline will initially operate twice weekly, relaunching on January 18, 2025.

You might also like:

Flights will depart YVR on Wednesdays and Sundays at 1:50 am and arrive at 7 am the next day, while return trips will depart HKG on Tuesdays (depart at 10:10 pm, arrive at 6:10 pm the same day) and Saturdays (depart at 11:50 pm, arrive at 7:50 pm the same day).

According to a release, Hong Kong Airlines is restarting its Vancouver route, based on the service’s previous proven popularity. This represents a major move for the airline in re-establishing its global network.

The airline first indicated its interest in August 2024 in restarting its Vancouver and Los Angeles routes, along with launching brand-new services to Seattle and Toronto.

“We are thrilled to welcome Vancouver back as Hong Kong Airlines’ first North American destination. We aim to attract more travellers to experience Vancouver’s beauty, facilitating family reunions and business collaborations,” said Hong Kong Airlines Chairman Yan Bo in a statement today.

“The route will further strengthen our Asian network and offer global passengers more diverse and convenient travel options, connecting Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area, Oceania, and North America.”

The airline reports it has recovered to pre-pandemic levels on a number of flights basis, with an average passenger load factor of about 85%. This also follows a restructuring of the company in 2023, with the airline now serving over 30 destinations.

Hong Kong Airlines previously operated frequent flights between HKG and YVR from June 2017 to February 2020. The airline also leveraged Jackie Chan’s star power to promote the route; he boarded the inaugural flight to Vancouver and participated in the Canada Day 150 celebrations at Canada Place.

The cancellation of the airline’s international routes occurred before the pandemic’s impact became apparent. In December 2019, the airline announced it would cease operations on its Vancouver and Los Angeles routes in February 2020 due to mounting financial issues, well before the pandemic’s global onset in mid-March 2020.

The airline’s financial troubles began long before the pandemic, affected by the 2019/2020 Hong Kong pro-democracy protests and the US-China trade war, which severely impacted travel demand to Hong Kong.

The vast majority of Hong Kong Airlines’ routes from before 2020 remain cancelled, and the airline has been downgraded to a regional carrier

The route between HKG and YVR is one of YVR’s highest capacity non-US international routes, with frequent flight services operated by Air Canada and especially Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific. Vancouver is one of Cathay Pacific’s key international markets, and this is also made apparent by the existence of Cathay Pacific’s luxurious large lounge within the YVR terminal.

Since Hong Kong and Mainland China began easing strict pandemic-related health measures in 2022, YVR has experienced a steady rebound in Asia Pacific passenger volumes.

While the recovery has been strong to date, the numbers are still below pre-pandemic levels.

YVR Airport new flights 2023-2025

February 7, 2023: Toronto, Ontario (YYZ) — Porter Airlines, 3x daily
May 17, 2023: Atlanta, Georgia (ATL) — WestJet, 4x weekly (seasonal)
May 19, 2023: Nashville, Tennessee (BNA) — WestJet, 2x weekly (seasonal)
June 1, 2023: Washington, DC (IAD) — Air Canada, 5x weekly (seasonal)
June 15, 2023: Boston, Massachusetts (BOS) — JetBlue, daily (seasonal)
October 28, 2023: Dubai, United Arab Emirates (DXB) — Air Canada, 4x weekly
March 13, 2024: Tokyo, Japan (Narita; NRT) — Zipair, 5x weekly
April 3, 2024: Singapore (SIN) — Air Canada, 4x weekly
April 11, 2024: Montreal, Quebec (YUL) — Porter Airlines, daily
April 28, 2024: Detroit, Michigan (DTW) — WestJet, daily (seasonal)
June 5, 2024: Charlotte, North Carolina (CLT) — American Airlines, daily (seasonal)
January 18, 2025: Hong Kong (HKG) — Hong Kong Airlines, 2x weekly
May 1, 2025: Nashville, Tennessee (BNA) — Air Canada, 4x weekly (seasonal)
June 3, 2025: Tampa, Florida (TPA) — Air Canada, 2x weekly
June 4, 2025: Raleigh, North Carolina (RDU) — Air Canada, 3x weekly (seasonal)
May 11, 2025: Austin, Texas (AUS) — WestJet, 3x weekly (seasonal)

You might also like: