It was 9pm on June 20, and the departure of Hong Kong Airlines Flight HX234 from Hong Kong Airport to Shanghai was in jeopardy. The air traffic control at Pudong reported bad weather and ordered the plane to delay take-off.

So the plane waited for permission to depart while still idling at its original position next to the passenger terminal. For hours. At 2am, passengers began to request to leave the plane, but it wasn’t until 3am when the captain announced the flight would be cancelled, a full six hours after the original departure time of 9pm.

At this time, Hong Kong Airlines offered its 276 passengers HK$200 in compensation, dinner and breakfast vouchers, along with a flight to Shanghai later. Around 130 of the already boarded passengers accepted this offer, and disembarked the plane. However, about 70 passengers rejected the terms, and refused to leave.

Here’s where this story takes wildly different turns depending on which side of the Hong Kong-Mainland boundary you’re on.

The People’s Daily reported that the passengers had nothing to eat or drink for the entire 16 hours, during which the air conditioning was reported to have been turned off. The paper said the airline staff also left the plane during the passengers’ protest.

This report refers to the passengers as being “detained; while the passengers were not allowed to leave the flight before it was cancelled at 3am, the passengers refused to leave the plane after 3am once the flight was cancelled.

On the other hand, the airline states that water was provided to passengers throughout the incident, during which time the air conditioning was on, reports the Hong Kong Standard.

But it gets uglier. Passenger Mr Hua said the protesters were not seeking compensation, but rather wanted to complain about how they were being treated. But airline staff have a different story.

Stewardess Candy Tong made a post on Instagram in which she affirmed that airline staff gave food and drink to the passengers. Furthermore, Tong stated that during the delay, airline staff had lent passengers their own personal cell phone chargers. Passengers used their recharged batteries to take pictures of the flight attendants.

The following photograph was posted to Facebook with the text, “#1320 Thanks for telling me there is no food and drinks in HX 234.”

The whole standoff finally came to an end at 3pm on the 21st — after passengers had stayed on the flight for a full 18 hours — when Hong Kong Airlines decided to increase compensation to HK$800 per passenger.

Hong Kong Airlines has experienced similar protests by mainland passengers before. Two months ago, 31 passengers refused to leave a flight leaving Bali. Back in 2011, 21 passengers refused to leave a Hong Kong Airlines flight after a nine-hour delay in Singapore. Seventeen passengers refused to leave a flight departing from Shanghai in 2012 after an 18-hour weather delay.

A “language strike” by Hong Kong Airlines flight attendants is now planned for July 1 in which staff will refrain from speaking Putonghua. July 1 is also the annual day of protest in Hong Kong, which also coincides with its handover of sovereignty back to Mainland China.

Photos: People’s Daily, Facebook

Leaders of the three cities signed the pact last week that means Shenzhen Metro lines 6 and 11 will connect with the R1 and R3 lines respectively in Dongguan while the existing Longgang Line, and future Line 12, will be extended to Huizhou, Shenzhen Daily reports.

The paper has more:

According to the memorandum for rail project cooperation, Metro Line 11 will provide an express link between Futian CBD and the Shenzhen airport, while Line 6 will link the airport with Longhua and Guangming new areas and will be extended to link up with Dongguan’s rail system. The Longgang Line will be extended to the Pingdi and Kengzi areas, under future plans that also include the link with Huizhou. The projects are expected to further facilitate the integration of the three cities.

The Special Zone Daily reported yesterday that since the new lines were added ahead of the 2011 Universiade, the number of people using the metro in Shenzhen has quadrupled. It looks like the local government is banking on its continued growth.

In other travel news, United Airlines joined other airlines in opening a check-in counter at Shekou ferry terminal on Thursday (Aug 8), according to Shenzhen Daily.

The other 12 airlines with check-in counters at the Shekou terminal are: Turkish Airlines, Hong Kong Express Airways, Hong Kong Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airlines, China Airlines, Dragon Air, Japan Airlines, Mandarin Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, All Nippon Airways and EVA Air.

For those unfamiliar, the check-in process at Shekou Ferry Terminal allows people with confirmed flights departing from Hong Kong to check in and receive their boarding passes at the ferry terminal.  The ferry will then take them direct to Hong Kong Airport, skipping Hong Kong entry and exit immigration formalities.

Airline Route is reporting services from Changchun, Dalian, Guangzhou, Harbin and Shenyang are being reduced, affecting flights to Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Nagoya, Niigata, Osaka Kansai, Sapporo, Sendai, Tokyo Narita and Toyama.

Dalian is the worst hit, losing 14 flights.

The Centre for Aviation (CAPA) revealed one-way seat capacity between China and Japan has fallen to its lowest level since 2004. Capacity for October was down 9 per cent year-on-year.

Other plans to boost capacity have also been shelved, affecting the second daily Guangzhou-Osaka Kansai service.

The 174-seat Airbus A321 will continue to serve the route, replacing the 374-seat Boeing 777-200 for the time being, representing a near 110% cut in seat availability. CSA has also removed 120 seats from its daily Guangzhou-Tokyo Narita service, replacing its Airbus A330-200 with a Boeing 737-800.

Airspace reform urged
The Comprehensive Transport Institute is calling for reform of China’s airspace and expanding its use for civilian aviation.

The group is warning congestion will come to a head once Guangzhou’s new runway opens, combined with a third runway being considered in Hong Kong.

China Daily carry this self-evident line describing the situation:

The region’s sky has been so severely congested that the International Air Transport Association has said that the situation in the Pearl River Delta is one of the top three global air traffic control problems.

With more flights connecting six PRD airports (Foshan, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macau, Shenzhen, Zhuhai) to the rest of Asia and the world, experts are questioning how much more the region can take with such little approved airspace available.

Passenger improvements for Baiyun Airport
Life of Guangzhou is reporting airport management at Baiyun Airport will invest RMB4 million into passenger improvements at Baiyun Airport.

Some ideas include a smartphone app for better on-the-move information in the hands of passengers.

This is an 11-percent increase on last year.

Monday and Tuesday are expected to see the highest number of Hong Kong-bound travelers, with over 720,000 entering the SAR from Shenzhen on Tuesday.

Daily peak hours will occur between 8:30 a.m. and 12 p.m.and the Futian and Shenzhen Bay checkpoints will be particularly busy.

All checkpoints will have additional staff on duty to handle the influx and travelers can dial 8449-6666 for checkpoint information.

Meanwhile Futian Transport Hub has opened several new bus services according to the paper.

Mainland passengers traveling to Hong Kong from the PRD or Guangxi can now take a direct bus from the Futian terminal to Hong Kong International Airport, Tsim Sha Tsui, Prince Edward and Tsuen Wan.

Travelers also can check in for flights departing from Hong Kong at the Futian terminal.

Baiyun Airport gets bigger, so will the number of Guangzhou’s airports
In the latest gathering of Guangzhou’s political decision-makers, the Standing Committee approved plans to construct a third runway at Baiyun Airport with construction starting this month. In other news, construction will begin on the airport’s new second terminal – just north of the existing facility – by the end of the year.

However, if that isn’t enough, China Daily reports that the airport extension is in line with current plans to create a second Guangzhou airport to the south of the city. If plans come to fruition, the PRD will become one of the most congested regional airspaces in the country catering for Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Zhuhai, Shenzhen and Macau.

China Southern’s first A380 international flight
There was a lot of hype, fanfare and attention on China Southern Airlines (CSA) newest arrival, the double-decker A380, last year. Then it headed into a year-long domestic exile. Now though, it’s going international: It’s off to Hollywood.

The carrier’s upgraded service will take off on October 12 as the first and only Chinese superjumbo to head across the Pacific.

While China Southern already flies to Los Angeles, it believes it can tap into a greater share of the Trans-Pacific market. In doing so, Airline Route reckons overall capacity will soar 78 per cent, meaning CSA has its work cut out for itself.

CSA has three superjumbos in its fleet with two more on the way, which will be deployed on international routes and primary domestic cities.

India’s SpiceJet heads to the PRD’s busiest airports
India’s budget airline SpiceJet has won government approval to expand international operations, starting with daily services to Hong Kong and Guangzhou. The Nanfang earlier reported on India’s aviation reforms aimed at revitalising the sector.

As SpiceJet plans for a China arrival, Dragonair prepares for a second Indian landing
Dragonair is extending its reach away from the Far East and South East Asia. Starting November 2, a new four-times-a-week service to Kolkata, in the eastern state of West Bengal, will take off. The move will also help support Cathay Pacific, its parent company, as a feeder and codeshare airline. Cathay already flies to five major Indian cities.

And two major updates on stories The Nanfang trailed last week on Shenzhen-Sydney, Delhi-Hong Kong-Osaka Kansai and Delhi-Hong Kong-Seoul Incheon. Air India is resuming flights to Seoul Incheon and Osaka Kansai via Hong Kong earlier than planned. The Delhi-Hong Kong-Osaka Kansai route resumes with three weekly flights starting on August 21 and Delhi-Hong Kong-Seoul Incheon resumes the following day with four flights a week.

Hainan Airlines has postponed resuming its Sydney service until December 3.

China Southern ramps up London service
It wasn’t long ago that China Southern Airlines (CSA) launched their new Guangzhou-London service, and they’re already increasing the frequency of flights. Starting October 28, Heathrow will get daily service from Guangzhou, the only non-stop flight between the two cities.

Shenzhen starts-up Sydney service again
Hainan Airlines is returning to Sydney, Australia once more starting October 29 after a near nine-month hiatus – also making it the furthest international destination from Shenzhen to anywhere in the Asia-Pacific, let alone the world.

China Southern’s South East Asia shuffle
From September 21, Kuala Lumpur gets an extra daily flight from Guangzhou, taking the total to three flights a day.

Starting September 24 there will be extra flights from Guangzhou to Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore and Yangon. Ho Chi Minh goes thrice-daily, Singapore has been increased to four-a-day while Yangon temporarily doubles to four-a-week until October 26. Finally, starting October 1, twice-daily service resumes on the Guangzhou-Manila route after passenger traffic took a knock over rising political tensions between the mainland and the Philippines earlier this summer.

Hong Kong’s winter blues
Winter is the time of year where wings are clipped in the northern hemisphere as far as long-haul goes. British Airways are keeping to its 14 weekly departures from Heathrow, previously aiming for 17, while European rival Lufthansa reduces daily departures to a five or six flights a week service.

And in recent weeks, Hong Kong has been hit by strikes at Air India. While there’s been a resolution, flights from Delhi to Hong Kong and onwards to Osaka Kansai and Seoul Incheon are still suspended until September 1.

Emirates A380 Hong Kong u-turn
The Dubai-carrier has backed out of plans to introduce a 14-weekly A380 service to Hong Kong. It will stick to its previous seven A380 departures via Bangkok, with four other aircraft going to Hong Kong non-stop.

There’s still hope
It’s not all bad news in Hong Kong. Hong Kong Airlines is boosting services to Shanghai Pudong starting August 1. Its introducing an extra three flights on top of the 14-weekly in an all-new business class only flight. And from September 10, the number of flights will rise to 21 a week.

Source: Airline Route