Oasis Hong Kong to Meet Press After Closure Report (Update4)
By Kelvin Wong and Wendy Leung
April 9 (Bloomberg) -- Oasis Hong Kong Airlines Ltd., the 17-month-old budget carrier, will make an announcement at 2 p.m. today, hours after the Hong Kong Economic Times reported the company may stop flying because of losses.
``I'm not in a position to make an announcement at the moment,'' Chief Executive Officer Stephen Miller said by phone. He declined to comment on the newspaper report, which cited unidentified people.
The closely held airline has accumulated losses of as much as HK$1 billion ($128 million) and is losing more than HK$1 million a flight, the Hong Kong Economic Times said. Oasis would be at least the fourth global airline to stop flying within two weeks after the price of fuel surged 73 percent in the past year.
``If Oasis is in trouble, then others surely will follow,'' said Martin Marnick, head of equity trading at Helmsman Global Trading Ltd. in Hong Kong. ``It does go to prove what a high- cost, low-margin business this is.''
Oasis began flying to London in October 2006 and added services to Vancouver a year ago in a bid to challenge Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. It initially offered tickets to London Gatwick for as little as HK$1,000 one-way, less than 20 percent the price then charged by Cathay Pacific for flights to Heathrow.
The airline is unable to take bookings at present because of problems with its reservation system, an agent said when called at the company's sales centre. Customers should call back after 2 p.m., the agent added. It was impossible to book a business-class seat to London via the company's Web site before the end of this month. The system said no flights were available.
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The budget carrier said last month it was in talks with investors as it sought funds to help start as many as three new routes this year. The airline sold a $30 million stake to fund manager Value Partners Ltd. in October.
Value Partners doesn't know if the carrier is going to close, spokeswoman Teresa Yu said by phone.
The carrier has raised fares about 20 percent in the past six months and intends to carry on increasing them, Miller said on March 7. It has also boosted fuel surcharges about a quarter to HK$518 per flight over the past year.
The carrier has four Boeing Co. 747, according to its Web site. It planned to more than double the fleet to 14 by 2011, it said last month.
The airline was set up by Chairman Raymond Lee, a minister and property investor. He and his wife were among backers who committed $100 million in funds to the airline before it began flying. Unlike low-cost short-haul carriers, Oasis offers passengers free meals and in-flight entertainment. It charges extra for soft drinks, and also offers business-class seats.
U.S. carriers ATA Airlines Inc., Aloha Airgroup Inc. and Skybus Airlines Inc. have also ceased operations since March 31 amid surging fuel prices and slowing travel.
The price of jet fuel rose 1.8 percent to a record $137.35 a barrel in Singapore trading yesterday.
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發表於 2008-4-8 21:13
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