proview Posted March 18, 2003 Share Posted March 18, 2003 How are these folks doing? I notice from their web site that they are down to four or five flights a week. Is this a normal seasonal adjustment in the holiday charter business or is there something more ominous. Just curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oneworld Posted March 19, 2003 Share Posted March 19, 2003 It seems that they are planning an expansion for the summer into the US and into YYZ. Here is an article that was in the Vancouver Sun. Vancouver Sun Saturday March 1, 2003 Travel - Company owner David Ho is planning to buy more aircraft and is hoping to expand destinations to China, writes reporter Wyng Chow Tycoon David Ho is seeking to fly higher and expand his horizons, less than four months after launching his new Vancouver-based chartered airline’s inaugural flight. Ho, sole owner of HMY Airways, has started the process of acquiring new aircraft, ultimately aimed at building up his fleet to seven planes over the next several years, as he establishes new international routes, including service to Asia. “I’m looking at Boeing 767 s and 777s, as well as a business jet,” said Ho, fresh back from kicking a few tires at Boeing’s giant main assembly plant in Everett, Wash. Ho, chairman and CEO of David T.K. Ho Enterprises, received the red-carpet treatment from Boeing officials, who wined and dined him before showing him planes with price tags of $200 million US each. He said Friday he intends to place an order within the next two to three months, as soon as the operation of his airline’s two existing Boeing 757s “get settled down.” The typical waiting period to take delivery of a brand new jumbo jet from Boeing is two years. Although acknowledging the abundant availability of quality used planes – given the current state of the U.S. airline industry in the after-math of the events of September 11, 2001 and the looming war against Iraq – Ho said he is “leaning heavily toward buying new long-ranged aircraft.” Potential trans-Pacific destinations for HMY include Xi’an, Dalian and Harbin major cities in central or northern China that are not serviced from Vancouver by established scheduled carriers such as Cathay Pacific and Air Canada. Ho is looking at non-stop flights from Vancouver to Macau, the former Portuguese colony, which would gain him a direct foothold into nearby Hong Kong, but without having to compete against industry heavy-weights like Cathay Pacific, Air Canada, Japan Airlines, or Singapore Air lines. “There are various opportunities for someone well capitalized, who has a clear vision, to venture into selected markets where there’s no big competition,” said HMY’s corporate lawyer, Lyle Knott. Besides HMY, Ho, heir to the Hong Kong Tobacco fortune, has extensive B.C business interests, including MCL Motor Cars, University Golf Club, DTKH Robson Developments and South Alder Greenhouses. Ho, a frequent traveler, first decided to start his own airline in January 2002, after he and his young daughter were stranded for 18 hours at the Maui airport waiting for a return flight to Vancouver. Currently, HMY, along with its sister company, Companion Holidays, is operating charter flights to five Mexican sunspots – inaugural flight to Mazatlan took off from Vancouver Nov. 22 – as well as to Las Vegas. This summer, the airline plans to focus more on domestic and trans-border destinations, including Toronto, Los Angeles and other U.S. cities. Ho conceded HMY “hasn’t made money yet” while undergoing initial growing pains, but he expects to “break even” this summer and to start turning a profit in the fall. “We’ve got a product superior to all our competitors,” he said. “Now we’ve got to tell the world about it.” HMY is currently negotiating with Transport Canada to add Hawaii to its list of destinations by late summer. Meanwhile, Ho is also seeking permission from Ottawa and Beijing government to be designated as the second Canadian carrier – Air Canada is the other – allowed to fly into China. That process is expected to take about 18 months, while Ho awaits his order to be filled by Boeing, which earlier agreed to supply him with additional aircraft on short notice. “Even before we get approval, we hope to have the planes ready,” he said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest doo Posted March 19, 2003 Share Posted March 19, 2003 What happened to their web site? Any time I try to look at it I get the standard pg not avail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oneworld Posted March 19, 2003 Share Posted March 19, 2003 '> http://www.hmyairways.com/ Its been updated recently but its still their. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest doo Posted March 23, 2003 Share Posted March 23, 2003 Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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