In 1946 Jardine Air Maintenance Company (JAMCo) had been formed to serve the rapidly expanding portfolio of airlines serving Hong Kong and Jardine Airways was formed as the general sales agent in Hong Kong and China of BOAC and other carriers. HKA was formed in 1947, by BOAC and Jardine, Matheson & Co.(怡和). Jardines wanted to develop a Hong Kong carrier with the support of a British government backed enterprise. BOAC wanted to create a feeder carrier to transport passengers from their London to Hong Kong service to onward destinations in China and the Far East. Additionally the government in London wanted to develop a new market for British manufactured aircraft. Jardines were general sales agents of HKA and became owners before selling to government backed partner BOAC.
Jardine/BOAC and Swire/Cathay Pacific battle for Hong Kong Aviation franchiseEdit
In May 1949 an agreement was signed by Cathay Pacific (Jock Swire) and BOAC (on behalf of Hong Kong Airways) along Governor Alexander Grantham's lines of route allocation to each party. Cathay secured the valuable routes to and from Bangkok, Singapore, Haiphong, Saigon, Sandakan, Jesselton (now Kota Kinabalu) and Labuan, and Rangoon (with an extension possible to Calcutta). That left HKA with Canton, Macao, Shanghai and Tientsin, not, after all, Japan. On 1 December 1949 BOAC sold Hong Kong Airways back to Jardines,[1] but it soon ran for cover to another 'big brother', in a charter association with the American company Northwest Airlines on the Taipei and Tokyo services. Then in 1953, the British Government attempted to bring about a merger between Cathay Pacific, BOAC and Hong Kong Airways to form a single regional airline. This eventually led to Cathay Pacific taking over Hong Kong Airways on 1 July 1959 with BOAC getting 15 per cent of Cathay Pacific's shares and a seat on the Board.
LegacyEdit
JAMco was merged with Swire/Cathay Pacific maintenance interests, to form HAECO, on 1 November 1950. After the merger of JAMCo to form HAECO Jardines did receive a parcel of HAECO shares but this gradually waned. HKA itself merged with Cathay Pacific on 1 July 1959. Jardine Airways remained the exclusive General Sales Agent in Hong Kong for British Airways until the year 2000. Another Jardine affiliate Eupo Air (歐亞) chartered seats for distribution primarily amongst the Chinese community on British Airways flights on the Hong Kong to London route from 1983 to 2002, a similar partnership to that of HKA and Northwest Airlines in the 1950s. Today (2013) Jardines (怡和) largest aviation interest in Hong Kong is Jardine Aviation Services a ground handling business, however, Eupo Air still partners British Airways and Jardine Travel provides retail agency service plus corporate travel & expense management. The Swire Group (太古) is still (2013) the principal shareholder in Cathay Pacific. Dragonair, now owned by Cathay Pacific as Cathay Dragon, is flying some of the routes originally pioneered by HKA. On this basis it can be concluded that the battle for Hong Kong aviation was roundly won by the Swire Group.
FleetEdit
Hong Kong Airways operated a fleet of aircraft including:
On 11 July 1949, a Hong Kong Airways Douglas DC-3 (VR-HDQ) from Hong Kong to Canton, overran the runway during takeoff and crashed into the water. The aircraft sank after the rescue operations. There were 11 occupants on board the aircraft, three crew and eight passengers, with no fatalities reported.[2]
ReferencesEdit
^"B.O.A.C. Sell Out in Hong Kong". Dundee Courier. British Newspaper Archive. 28 November 1949. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
^ ab"Accident description – Douglas C-47A-40-DL VR-HDQ". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
hong, kong, airways, confused, with, hong, kong, express, hong, kong, airlines, oasis, hong, kong, airlines, this, article, contains, many, overly, lengthy, quotations, encyclopedic, entry, please, help, improve, article, presenting, facts, neutrally, worded, . Not to be confused with Air Hong Kong HK Express Hong Kong Airlines or Oasis Hong Kong Airlines This article contains too many or overly lengthy quotations for an encyclopedic entry Please help improve the article by presenting facts as a neutrally worded summary with appropriate citations Consider transferring direct quotations to Wikiquote or for entire works to Wikisource July 2012 Hong Kong Airways was a flag carrier of British Hong Kong during the late 1940s and 1950s Hong Kong AirwaysHong Kong Airways logoCommenced operations1947Ceased operations1959Operating basesKai Tak AirportFleet sizeSee Fleet belowDestinationsSee Destinations belowParent companyBritish Overseas Airways Corporation 1947 to November 30 1949 and Jardine Matheson amp Co 1947 1959 sole ownership after 1949 HeadquartersBritish Hong KongHong Kong AirwaysTraditional Chinese香港航空Simplified Chinese香港航空JyutpingHoeng1 gong2 hong4 hung1TranscriptionsStandard MandarinHanyu PinyinXianggǎng HangkōngYue CantoneseYale RomanizationHeung gong hohng hungJyutpingHoeng1 gong2 hong4 hung1 Contents 1 Context of launch 2 Jardine BOAC and Swire Cathay Pacific battle for Hong Kong Aviation franchise 3 Legacy 4 Fleet 5 Destinations 6 Incidents and accidents 7 ReferencesContext of launch EditIn 1946 Jardine Air Maintenance Company JAMCo had been formed to serve the rapidly expanding portfolio of airlines serving Hong Kong and Jardine Airways was formed as the general sales agent in Hong Kong and China of BOAC and other carriers HKA was formed in 1947 by BOAC and Jardine Matheson amp Co 怡和 Jardines wanted to develop a Hong Kong carrier with the support of a British government backed enterprise BOAC wanted to create a feeder carrier to transport passengers from their London to Hong Kong service to onward destinations in China and the Far East Additionally the government in London wanted to develop a new market for British manufactured aircraft Jardines were general sales agents of HKA and became owners before selling to government backed partner BOAC Jardine BOAC and Swire Cathay Pacific battle for Hong Kong Aviation franchise EditIn May 1949 an agreement was signed by Cathay Pacific Jock Swire and BOAC on behalf of Hong Kong Airways along Governor Alexander Grantham s lines of route allocation to each party Cathay secured the valuable routes to and from Bangkok Singapore Haiphong Saigon Sandakan Jesselton now Kota Kinabalu and Labuan and Rangoon with an extension possible to Calcutta That left HKA with Canton Macao Shanghai and Tientsin not after all Japan On 1 December 1949 BOAC sold Hong Kong Airways back to Jardines 1 but it soon ran for cover to another big brother in a charter association with the American company Northwest Airlines on the Taipei and Tokyo services Then in 1953 the British Government attempted to bring about a merger between Cathay Pacific BOAC and Hong Kong Airways to form a single regional airline This eventually led to Cathay Pacific taking over Hong Kong Airways on 1 July 1959 with BOAC getting 15 per cent of Cathay Pacific s shares and a seat on the Board Legacy EditJAMco was merged with Swire Cathay Pacific maintenance interests to form HAECO on 1 November 1950 After the merger of JAMCo to form HAECO Jardines did receive a parcel of HAECO shares but this gradually waned HKA itself merged with Cathay Pacific on 1 July 1959 Jardine Airways remained the exclusive General Sales Agent in Hong Kong for British Airways until the year 2000 Another Jardine affiliate Eupo Air 歐亞 chartered seats for distribution primarily amongst the Chinese community on British Airways flights on the Hong Kong to London route from 1983 to 2002 a similar partnership to that of HKA and Northwest Airlines in the 1950s Today 2013 Jardines 怡和 largest aviation interest in Hong Kong is Jardine Aviation Services a ground handling business however Eupo Air still partners British Airways and Jardine Travel provides retail agency service plus corporate travel amp expense management The Swire Group 太古 is still 2013 the principal shareholder in Cathay Pacific Dragonair now owned by Cathay Pacific as Cathay Dragon is flying some of the routes originally pioneered by HKA On this basis it can be concluded that the battle for Hong Kong aviation was roundly won by the Swire Group Fleet EditHong Kong Airways operated a fleet of aircraft including 1 Douglas DC 3 2 1 Douglas DC 4 3 2 Vickers Viscount V760D VR HFI leased from BOAC Associated Companies sold to Malayan Airways in 1959 VR HFJ leased from BOAC Associated Companies sold to Malayan Airways in 1959Destinations EditBritish Hong Kong Hong Kong Kai Tak Airport 3 Main hub China Guangzhou Pai Yuen Airport 4 Shanghai Shanghai Longhua Airport 5 Taipei 3 until 1949 Taiwan since 1949 Taipei 3 Taipei Songshan Airport Japan Tokyo 3 Haneda Airport Ryukyu Islands Okinawa 3 Naha Airport Philippines Manila 6 Nichols Field South Korea 6 Seoul Gimpo International AirportIncidents and accidents EditOn 11 July 1949 a Hong Kong Airways Douglas DC 3 VR HDQ from Hong Kong to Canton overran the runway during takeoff and crashed into the water The aircraft sank after the rescue operations There were 11 occupants on board the aircraft three crew and eight passengers with no fatalities reported 2 References Edit B O A C Sell Out in Hong Kong Dundee Courier British Newspaper Archive 28 November 1949 Retrieved 8 July 2014 a b Accident description Douglas C 47A 40 DL VR HDQ Aviation Safety Network Retrieved 6 August 2009 a b c d e f The World s Airlines Flight Reed Business Information 21 May 1954 Retrieved 6 August 2009 Civil Aviation News Flight Reed Business Information 21 October 1948 Retrieved 6 August 2009 Hong Kong Shanghai Service Flight Reed Business Information 1 January 1948 Retrieved 6 August 2009 a b Hong Kong Flight Reed Business Information 22 August 1958 Retrieved 6 August 2009 pg 117 of Beyond Lion Rock Young Gavin 1988 pg 236 of The Thistle amp the Jade Keswick Maggie Ed 1982 Portals nbsp Hong Kong nbsp Companies nbsp Aviation Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hong Kong Airways amp oldid 1104046396, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
