Manila flights help Asian airlines sustain growth in North America network — study

The Philippines is an effective bridge for Asian carriers to increase their North American traffic to other Asian countries, the Center for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) said in a report.
The reported cited as example Hong Kong Airlines’ announcement that it will launch daily Hong Kong-Manila flights in June.
“This may seem to have limited implications on its own, but is part of an effort by Hong Kong Airlines to sustain its growing North American network: the Philippines is a large volume albeit low-yielding connecting source for Northeast Asia-North America flights,” the aviation think tank wrote.
In April, Hong Kong Airlines announced it will fly an Airbus A320 with a seating capacity of 174 in the Economy Class to accommodate the increasing tourist arrivals from Philippines to Hong Kong.
“Manila connections will be important to help the airline sustain a North America network. Success in Manila could encourage Hong Kong Airlines to make bolder growth in particular, and more difficult, Southeast Asian markets.” it said.
It also noted that other Asian airlines that have opened flights connected to the Philippines have made the same growth before, such as Air China, All Nippon Airways, China Eastern, Xiamen Airlines and EVA Air. — Denise A. Valdez