Greater Bay Airlines apologises for axing flights due to delayed aircraft delivery

Greater Bay Airlines has apologised for axing 128 flights scheduled between January and March, mostly to popular travel destinations such as Korea and Japan. Details of the cancelled flights remain unknown. 

According to CNA, the company attributed the cancellation to delays in the delivery of newly ordered aircraft, and the need for some aircraft in its fleet to undergo scheduled safety inspections as required, the airline had to temporarily take them out of service and its overall flight schedule has been impacted. 

“We have had to consolidate flights on certain routes, resulting in the cancellation of some flights. We sincerely apologise to all affected passengers.” 

The airline said it was proactively contacting affected customers to rebook or refund their tickets and waive all related fees while assigning more staff to its customer service centre. 

“We will seriously review the experience and relevant arrangements to prevent similar situations from occurring in the future,” the airline added. 

The incident has drawn negative sentiments as some netizens worried they couldn’t get a refund for the flight tickets they had booked, while some urged the company to reveal the details of the cancelled flights, a check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE saw on the airline’s Facebook page. 

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to GBA Airlines for a statement.

A travel and airline Facebook page “MeetHK.com” revealed on Tuesday the cancellation of flights with destinations such as Japan’s Tokyo, Osaka, Yonago, Tokushima and Sendai, as well as Seoul in South Korea.  

The post drew over 1.1k reactions from netizens, with some questioning whether the cancellation of flights was related to aircraft safety and some said they would not consider taking flights from the airline. 

Greater Bay Airlines currently operates five Boeing 737-800 aircraft, according to a statement by the airline last January. "With an operation history of more than 25 years, Boeing 737-800 NG has a safe and sound flying record. The purchase order of 15 737-9 aircraft from Boeing as announced by the airline in March 2023 would not start delivery until end of 2024."

Hong Kong's Transport and Logistics Bureau said its chief Mable Chan had reached out to the airline’s senior executives to express her deep concern after acknowledging the incident. 

“The bureau will arrange a meeting with airline representatives to understand the latest developments, and request they submit a report promptly and handle the situation with the primary goal of safeguarding passengers’ rights while providing a detailed explanation to affected passengers as soon as possible,” it said. 

Chan also added that the smooth operation of Hong Kong airport relies on the cooperation of all carriers, especially local ones, and urged the company to present a comprehensive plan to lessen the impact on passengers.

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