Dragonair flight to Hong Kong

The Statesman July 3, 2008

Dragonair, a sister concern of Cathay Pacific, today launched its direct flight from Bangalore to Hong Kong, covering the distance in five hours. Its maiden flight arrived in the city from Hong Kong in the wee hours of the morning. In the process, it also became the only airline to operate a non-stop service between the two cities. The round trip fare for now is pegged at Rs 22,000. Together with Cathay Pacific Airways, Dragonair will now operate 35 flights from India. It recently added 20 new flights a week including additional services from Chennai, making a total of 28 flights a week from India to Hong Kong from different locations. According to Mr Algernon Yao, general manager, ground services and international affairs, Dragonair, along with Cathay Pacific, seized the opportunity to tap the available potential in India subsequent to the bilateral agreement that was announced earlier this year. He told newsmen here that the airline had commenced operations from the city following the huge potential that was waiting to be tapped. Despite the soaring prices of aviation fuel coupled with the high inflation in the country, the airline was confident of doing well. This optimism followed the absence of capacity till now. Dragonair also hopes to exploit the growing demand for business and leisure travel among Indians. The number of such travellers is expected to jump substantially. Already, the tourism promotion authorities in the island are gearing up to launch a major campaign to attract more Indian tourists, leveraging the advantage of a direct flight. Mr Tom Wright, general manager, India, middle east Africa and Pakistan, for Cathay Pacific, on his part, added that cargo remained a major part of the airlines' strategy as it accounted for almost 30 per cent of its revenues.