Emirates have released the following press release:
Emirates will be operating a one-off A380 service to Clark International Airport on 19 August 2020, marking the first commercial flight, utilizing an A380 aircraft, to operate to Clark. The special flight will help to meet the demand for flights to and from the Philippines, especially serving passengers from the metro Manila and the surrounding Luzon areas and beyond.
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This was a trip I had to make because I had business to take care of in Manila, so I had flown in to Manila with Cebu Pacific, and for the return flight I used my Qmiles (from Qatar Airways) to book a flight with Cathay Pacific from Manila to Hong Kong.
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This does probably not come as a surprise to anyone, but Cathay Pacific is loosing money fast. With a reported drop in passenger number of more than 98.5% compared to a year ago, it is basically only the cargo division that is bringing some cash in for the company.
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On March 25th, 2020, Emirates canceled all flights to Hong Kong UFN. This was in force until June 26th, when the started daily flights again, which lasted about 2 weeks until they reduces service to 3 per week in the middle of July, and now they have confirmed that they are cancelling all passenger flights to Hong Kong UFN.
It does indeed seem like the sun is setting for aviation in Hong Kong. The traffic numbers for June 2020 have been released, and I think it is no surprise that they are very similar to the numbers in May
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Boarding was about 30 minutes delayed, and the gate area was very crowded, but again I was offered the priority boarding, as I had paid for a priority seat (emergency exit).
Cathay Pacific has projected that they have lost around 10 billion Hong Kong Dollars in the first 6 months of this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
So far Cathay has not laid off any pilots, and they have historically never done so before either, but as pilot costs is a big expense for them, they are now offering some of their senior pilots aged 50 and above early retirement.
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The trip from my hotel and to Don Muang was quick and took me about 20 minutes. The cost was the same as coming from the airport, around 350 THB. As I had done online check-in I headed straight for immigration, and was through immigration and security check in a few minutes.
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Last week we saw the beginning of the 3rd wave of COVID-outbreak in Hong Kong, and the government reacted directly by imposing more restrictions again, this time also targeting flight crews who previously were exempted from testing on arrival to Hong Kong.
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After check-in was completed I headed just across the street to one of my favourite restaurants in Bangkok, the Old German Beerhouse. It has been there since my first trip to Bangkok, and have a great selection of both local and international dishes (and a good selection of beers).
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