JetStar Hong Kong Targets Philippine Cities

The Qantas Group and China Eastern Airlines announced a plan on March 26, 2012 to launch JetStar Hong Kong, a move aimed at creating the first low cost airline based in Hong Kong. The airline would serve short haul regional routes in Asia including China, South Korea, Japan, and a number of destinations throughout Southeast Asia.

Copyright Photo: Angelo Agcamaran/PPSG

According to a document released by the Licensing Authority of Hong Kong, JetStar Hong Kong has identified 129 routes that it wishes to serve from Hong Kong. While the majority of routes serve China and Japan, the Philippines is tied with Indonesia for boasting the third largest number of cities that JetStar Hong Kong intends to serve from its new base.

The list of proposed destinations in the Philippines include:

• Laoag
• Clark
• Manila
• Kalibo
• Iloilo
• Cebu
• Puerto Princesa
• Davao

But JetStar Hong Kong currently faces stiff opposition in its effort to launch the first ever low cost carrier from Hong Kong. Hong Kong's national carrier, Cathay Pacific, claimed that JetStar Hong Kong does not meet the Asian city's constitutional law. It also warned that the aviation industry and local economy could be damaged if "valuable and limited air-traffic rights" were placed into the hands of a carrier that is controlled by a foreign airline. 

The joint venture which is a project of Qantas and Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines was intended to be launched in the middle of 2013. But delays in obtaining regulatory approvals have forced the carrier to postpone any possible launch until at least December. Shun Tak Holdings, a Hong Kong conglomerate headed by gambling and shipping billionaire Stanley Ho, was recently brought on board as a partner to strengthen the carrier's position for regulatory approval.

JetStar Hong Kong plans to serve the following other destinations in Asia:

• Cambodia: Phnom Penh, Siem Reap
• China: Harbin, Changchun, Shenyang, Dalian, Tianjin, Beijing, Hohhot, Baotou, Yinchuan, Taiyuan, Xi’An, Lanzhou, Xining, Urumqi, Shijiazhuang, Jinan, Qingdao, Yantai, Zhengzhou, Luoyang, Xuzhou, Yancheng, Nanjing, Wuxi, Shanghai Hongqiao, Shanghai Pu Dong, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Wenzhou, Hefei, Tunxi, Wuhan, Changsha, Chongqing, Chengdu, Kunming, Dayong, Nanchang, Guiyang, Lijiang, Fuzhou, Jinjiang, Xiamen, Guilin, Nanning, Shantou, Zhanjiang, Haikou, Sanya
• Indonesia: Medan, Bandung, Jakarta, Semarang, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Denpasar, Lombok
• Japan: Asahikawa, Kushiro, Tokachi-Obihiro, Sapporo, Hakodate, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Tokyo Narita, Tokyo Haneda, Nagoya, Toyama, Komatsu, Osaka Kanai, Okayama, Hiroshima, Takamatsu, Matsuyama, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Oita, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Miyazaki, Kagoshima, Okinawa, Ishigaki
• Korea: Seoul Incheon, Seoul Gimpo, Cheongju, Daegu, Busan, Muan, Jeju
• Laos: Vientiane, Luang Prabang
• Malaysia: Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Langkawi, Penang, Kuala Lumpur
• Myanmar: Yangon, Mandalay
• Singapore: Singapore
• Taiwan: Taipei Taoyuan, Taichung, Kaohsiung
• Thailand: Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Koh Samui, Krabi, Phuket, Hat Yai
• Vietnam: Hanoi, Da Nang, Hue, Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh City
• Others: Guam, Saipan, Koror