Hong Kong Airlines Celebrates Inaugural Flight to Kumamoto, Japan

HONG KONG, Dec. 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Yesterday (14 December 2015) marked the inauguration of Hong Kong Airlines' twice-weekly direct flight service between Hong Kong and Kumamoto, Japan. To commemorate the official launch of this new route, Hong Kong Airlines and the Kumamoto Prefecture has held grand celebration events at both the Hong Kong International Airport and Aso Kumamoto Airport. KUMAMON, Kumamoto Prefecture Sales Manager, was also one of the officiating guests celebrating the events with gorgeous dance performances.

Before departure, every passenger was presented with a bag of souvenirs, including the inaugural flight certificate and Hong Kong Airlines X Kumamoto Prefecture KUMAMON mug, table calendar and paper hat. A KUMAMON standee was also placed at the check-in counter for passengers to take photos in gratitude for their support to the new direct flight to Kumamoto. To commemorate this special day, Mr. Stanley Kan, Director of Service Delivery of Hong Kong Airlines invited a group of guests and Hong Kong media to take the inaugural flight and flew to Kumamoto. Moreover, Mr. Nishiyama Hideki, Chief Director of the Kumamoto Prefectural Government Hong Kong Representative Office also personally greeted the passengers of the inaugural flight at the boarding gate and impressed them with the charm of Kumamoto in advance.

All passengers and flight crew of the inaugural flight received a warm welcome after the plane touched down at Kumamoto. They were greeted by the Airlines' local staff, while representatives from Kumamoto Prefectural Government and Tourism Organization gave out memorable Kumamoto souvenirs to mark a fantastic start of their Kyushu journey. At the Aso Kumamoto Airport, a simple yet special inaugural ceremony of ribbon cutting and commemorative souvenirs exchange was officiated by Mr. Ikuo Kabashima, Governor of Kumamoto Prefecture and Mr. Stanley Kan to celebrate the arrival of the inaugural flight to Kumamoto.

In the evening, the Kumamoto Prefectural Government and Hong Kong Airlines held a grand inaugural celebration dinner together. Both parties held a fruitful discussion on further strengthening ties between the two cities to foster growth in tourism and economic development. KUMAMON, Kumamoto Prefecture Sales Manager, was one of the officiating guests celebrating the event with gorgeous dance performances to mark the ending of the dinner with great success and enjoyment.

Mr. Stanley Kan, Director of Service Delivery of Hong Kong Airlines, said, "The Kumamoto route has received overwhelming response from the public and widespread popularity among travellers since its tickets were opened for sale. With increasing demand for travelling to Japan, we believe the new route will provide in-depth travellers with more flexible and diversified travel options in the Kyushu region through our "triangular service" between Hong Kong and Kagoshima, Miyazaki and Kumamoto."

Hong Kong Airlines' route network currently covers almost 30 cities across the Asia-Pacific region. With the launch of Kumamoto service, complemented by the existing two daily flights to Okinawa, five-time weekly service to Sapporo, thrice-weekly service to Kagoshima and twice-weekly flights to Miyazaki, Hong Kong Airlines operates a total of 26 weekly flights between Hong Kong and Japan starting from December this year, further strengthening its route network in Japan.

The flight schedule for Kumamoto route is as follows (*All Times Local):

^#Flight number and schedule may change without prior notice.   

About Hong Kong Airlines

Hong Kong Airlines is a full-service airline established in Hong Kong in 2006. Ever since then Hong Kong Airlines has grown to become an internationally-acclaimed carrier with its principal place of business in Hong Kong. Recognizing the warmth of its service and the quality of its onboard offering, Hong Kong Airlines has been awarded the highly-esteemed 4-star rating from Skytrax since 2011. Hong Kong Airlines' network currently covers almost 30 cities across the Asia-Pacific region, including Beijing, Shanghai, Sanya, Taipei, Sapporo, Bangkok, Bali and Okinawa. The current operating fleet has 26 aircraft with an average age of around 3.5 years, consisting of four Airbus A330-300s, nine Airbus A330-200s, eight A320s of passenger flights and five Airbus A330-200Fs of cargo flights. Adhering to the concept of "Fresh and Very Hong Kong", Hong Kong Airlines is committed to "Bringing Greater Journeys Sky High", and is dedicated to providing an extraordinary flight experience to the passengers.

For more information, please visit:

Official website: www.hkairlines.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/hkairlines

Sina Weibo: weibo.com/hongkongairlines

WeChat and Instagram ID: hkairlines

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/hong-kong-airlines

Before departure, every passenger was presented with a bag of souvenirs, including the inaugural flight certificate and Hong Kong Airlines X Kumamoto Prefecture KUMAMON mug, table calendar and paper hat as a gratitude to their support to the new route. Passengers and Hong Kong Airlines aircrew celebrated the inauguration of Kumamoto route.

Mr. Nishiyama Hideki, Chief Director of the Kumamoto Prefectural Government Hong Kong Representative Office also personally greeted the passengers of the inaugural flight at the boarding gate and impressed them with the charm of Kumamoto in advance.

At the Aso Kumamoto Airport, a simple yet special inaugural ceremony of ribbon cutting and commemorative souvenirs exchange was officiated by Mr. Ikuo Kabashima, Governor of Kumamoto Prefecture and Mr. Stanley Kan to celebrate the arrival of the inaugural flight to Kumamoto.

In the evening, the Kumamoto Prefectural Government and Hong Kong Airlines held a grand inaugural celebration dinner together. Both parties held a fruitful discussion on further strengthening ties between the two cities to foster growth in tourism and economic development. KUMAMON, Kumamoto Prefecture Sales Manager, was one of the officiating guests celebrating the event with gorgeous dance performances to mark the ending of the dinner with great success and enjoyment.

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