Hong Kong Airlines (HKA) will be operating on a skeletal fleet until mid-2022 as the carrier  — already plagued by financial woes  — continue to take hit from the coronavirus pandemic. 

In a statement to Asia Cargo News, HKA said it will suspend service of all its Airbus A320 planes until next year and operate just eight A330s for cargo.

"Hong Kong Airlines is now in a critical survival mode. In the past two years, our business has been severely affected by social unrest followed by the prolonged pandemic. During this challenging period, valiant efforts have been made to mitigate the impact of these crises," the Hong Kong-based carrier said referring to the local unrest in the financial hub prior to Covid-19.

It noted that to keep the company "alive" and "save as many jobs as we possibly could," the airline has introduced cost-savings measures and no pay leave schemes, also expediting its own consolidation and adjusted our business strategy to adapt to changing market conditions.

"With the collapse of air travel and no recovery in sight, an organizational restructure deemed to be executed together with our ongoing consolidation drive can no longer be delayed. It is imperative to transform Hong Kong Airlines into a leaner and more efficient organization now to ensure that we can continue to operate sustainably in the challenging years ahead," HKA said.

Fleet of eight A330s for cargo

Hong Kong Airlines said it will downsize its organization and implement employee restructuring which includes a long pay leave scheme and redundancy measures, among others.

"In view of the low travel demand in the foreseeable year, our active fleet will comprise of around eight Airbus A330 aircraft to support our belly cargo operation and limited passenger services," HKA said.

Meanwhile, Hong Airlines went on to say in its announcement that its "Airbus A320 fleet will be grounded for one year from July 2021."

"All A320 pilots will be offered Long Pay Leave, receiving one month of fixed salary for six-month LPL and two months of fixed salary for nine-month LPL respectively," it added.

The carrier continued: "Hong Kong Airlines remains committed to serving Hong Kong. We will continue to monitor the pandemic situation closely and adjust the scale of our business operations accordingly."

The carrier also noted that despite various government subsidies, "they could only offer a small relief to our business,"

Hong Kong-based airlines are faced with bigger pressure as an island city with no domestic operations compared to other carriers.