Greater Bay Airlines Company Limited (GBA, ) is a Hong Kong-based carrier established in 2020. The company's inaugural passenger flight (from Hong Kong to Bangkok) was conducted in July 2022.
Its head office is in One Citygate in Tung Chung.
History
Greater Bay Airlines was founded on May 24, 2010, as a subsidiary of East Pacific (Holdings) Ltd., initially known as Donghai Airlines. The company went through several name changes, becoming Donghai Airlines (Hong Kong) Limited on January 17, 2019, then Hong Kong Bauhinia Airlines on December 5, 2019, and finally Greater Bay Airlines on July 8, 2020.
During the certification process, the airline faced delays due to concerns raised by competitors Cathay Pacific, HK Express and Hong Kong Airlines. However, by February 2021, these concerns were addressed, and the airlines submitted position statements instead of objections to Greater Bay Airlines' application.
Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, Greater Bay Airlines initially focused on cargo services In September 2021, Greater Bay Airlines received its first aircraft, an ex-Norwegian Air International 2017-build Boeing 737-800 leased from the company ICBC Financial Leasing. It obtained its Air Operator's Certificate in October 2021 and began charter flights in November the same year. Its first charter flight was on 29 November 2021 and was a same-day round trip from Hong Kong to Bangkok.
In February 2022, it was granted the Air Transport License of Hong Kong, allowing it to operate scheduled flights. A second aircraft was leased in March 2022, deviating from the original plan of seven aircraft. A second aircraft was leased in March 2022, deviating from the original plan of seven aircraft.
Greater Bay Airlines launched its first passenger flight from Hong Kong to Bangkok in July 2022. As of May 2023, the airline operates scheduled services to five destinations: Bangkok, Taipei, Tokyo, Seoul, and Osaka.
Senior leadership
Following the departure of Algernon Yau, the founding CEO of Greater Bay Airlines, who assumed the role of secretary for the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau in the new Hong Kong Government administration, Bill Wong, the Chairman of Greater Bay Airlines named board member Stanley Hui as its new Chief Executive, effective on 26 June 2022.
Destinations
On 22 January 2021, Greater Bay Airlines applied a total of 104 routes from Hong Kong to Mainland China, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and Southeast Asia.