Hong Kong-Vancouver Budget Flights Introduced

Hong Kong-based budget carrier Oasis Airlines, which currently flies between Hong Kong and London, said Tuesday it will start operating flights to Vancouver, Canada late June. The low-cost, long-haul airline will fly six days a week between Hong Kong and Vancouver International Airport for fares more than 40 percent lower than rival carriers, chairman Raymond Lee said.

One-way economy tickets, which go on sale from Wednesday, start from $254.60, the company said. Rival operator Cathay Pacific Airways charges about $1,279 for a round-trip for the same route during June.

Oasis, which was launched last October as the first budget airline specializing in long-haul routes, said it has achieved a cash flow break-even in its first five months of operation. Its flights to London have been popular, Lee said, with economy class seats 90 to 98 percent occupied, Lee said. "The Hong Kong to Vancouver demand may be even higher than the Hong Kong to London one," he said. The airline has bought three more Boeing 747-400s from Japan's All Nippon Airways, expanding its flight to five, Lee said.