Kip Powick Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 New airline 'embarrassed' after Russian officials say "nyet" to maiden flight The much-hyped maiden flight of Hong Kong's first low-cost carrier was abruptly called off today after Russia refused to let it fly over its territory, according to CNN/Reuters. Oasis Hong Kong Airlines' Hong Kong-to-London flight was supposed to take off around 1 p.m. local time but was scrubbed following a delay of more than five hours. "Now our flight has to be terminated. We have tried very hard to talk to Russia's aviation authorities but we can't go forward, so we're asking passengers to leave the plane," the flight's pilot said in an announcement carried on Hong Kong's Cable TV. AP wrote that the incident left Oasis officials "embarrassed" and scrambling to see if an alternative route to London was feasible. "They (the Russians) only notified us that the approval was revoked while we were boarding our passengers. ... There was no way for us to inform our passengers in advance," said Oasis chairman Raymond Lee, who was onboard the inaugural flight. The Business Times of Malaysia wrote the "the setback may hinder Oasis, which promotes itself as the world's first long-haul budget airline." The paper noted Oasis is seeking "to win sales on a route already served at least nine times a day by four different carriers." Bloomberg News said that Oasis plans to start flights from Hong Kong to Oakland in 2007, adding the carrier also has rights to fly to Berlin, Chicago, Cologne and Milan. Oasis currently has two Boeing 747s, and company officials have predicted the carrier will grow to 25 planes within five years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AME Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 They (the Russians) only notified us that the approval was revoked while we were boarding our passengers on a route already served at least nine times a day by four different carriers either they failed to ensure the "Paperwork" reached the right person or somone supplied even more "Paperwork" to an even more right person Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fido Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Russian overflight is a very delicate negotiation. Air Canada spent a lot of time, money and personal relationship building to make sure that they had the rights. Even then it was a bumpy road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 I believe it was CAIL that did all the negotiating for Russian overflying... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fido Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 I believe it was CAIL that did all the negotiating for Russian overflying... They were separate dealings as AC was flying to HKG at the same time as CP before the merge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W5 Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 The true story behind the Oasis Hong Kong launch failure and omens for low-cost long-haul airlines http://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2006/...+long-haul.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handyman Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 The new "True Story" is no different than the old story! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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