Starting June 28, Canadian visitors to Hong Kong may have a little more money to spend during that city's famous summer sales.
Six-month-old Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, already flourishing in Britain, began selling tickets this week for its new trans-Pacific non-stop flights between Vancouver and Hong Kong. Its year-round one-way base fares - $299 for economy and $1,399 for business class - are almost 40 per cent less than the lowest prices of Cathay Pacific, the route's Goliath.
Oasis will offer six non-stop flights a week between Vancouver and Hong Kong on its small fleet of 747-400s.
Amenities will include a choice of Western or Asian hot meals, seat-back TVs and lounge access.
Hong Kong Tourism's Karisa Lui says the new airline provides "one more choice for travellers, and more capacity - an extra 2,154 seats weekly - for air travel to Hong Kong."
More than 88,000 Canadians travelled to Hong Kong during the first three months of this year, a 10.3-per-cent increase over the same period in 2006. "That trend will continue steadily with Oasis Hong Kong's new service," Lui says. "And, of course, it will bring more Hong Kong and Asian visitors to Canada."
Until May 31, business-class passengers who book round-trip travel from June 28 to Oct. 27 will receive a free, transferable business-class ticket.
For information, go to http://www.oasishongkong.com or call 1-888-983-0808.
Oasis Hong Kong is not the only airline making Asia-Pacific travel more accessible to Canadians: Look for the launch of Air New Zealand's non-stop flights from Vancouver to Auckland beginning Nov. 2. For information, go to http://www.AirNewZealand.com or call 1-800-663-5494.
Julie Ovenell-Carter