Hong Kong Int'l Welcomes New Carriers, Opens SkyMart

Hong Kong International Airport this spring saw the lift-off of its fourth low-cost carrier, opened a new shopping and dining facility following a $600 million airport renovation and ranked highest among travelers for its passenger services in two separate surveys.

HKIA in April welcomed the launch of operations of its fourth low-cost carrier, Valuair, which debuted daily service between Hong Kong and Singapore. Valuair joins Cebu Pacific, Orient Thai and Australian airlines—all operate relatively short routes—as the latest low-cost carrier to offer service from the airport.

"The addition of more airlines, low-fare/budget ones included, will help extend our network and consolidate Hong Kong's position as a premier regional hub," said David Pang, CEO of Airport Authority Hong Kong. "We will continue to proactively attract more airlines to operate from this airport, to more destinations with more flights."

The airport authority has been studying the market potentials offered by low-fare airlines and "is looking into ways to make HKIA an even more attractive airport for this category of airlines. We've been discussing with the low-fare airlines how we could meet their needs even better," said airport management director Howard Eng.

On choosing HKIA to launch its service, Valuair executive director Arthur Lim said the airport's "efficient and customer-focused service has made our choice an easy and obvious one. By offering lower fares, Valuair will increase passenger numbers and benefit the economies of Hong Kong and Singapore."

Customer service at the airport got a boost in March when HKIA officially opened Hong Kong SkyMart, a new shopping, dining and leisure concept to help attract more travelers. Following a $600 million renovation, HKIA now boasts 160 shops, plus 40 restaurants catering to a variety of tastes and budgets. The major airport expansion work began in April 2002 and included realigning the escalators to increase the flow of customers toward the new facilities. The revamp was the result of continuous surveys and passenger feedback aimed at providing better customer service. "There is something for everyone who wants to dine, shop or be pampered," said commercial director Hans Bakker. "We can truly boast that SkyMart captures the best in East meeting West." Pang added: "It is important that HKIA provides travelers with this unique airport experience to complement our competitiveness in international connectivity."

HKIA for the fourth year in a row was voted the world's best airport, according to the results of a global study released in April by U.K.-based independent aviation research institution Skytrax.

"The Airport of the Year title seems to have Hong Kong's name firmly engraved at the moment, but this accolade for HKIA was not without challenge," said Skytrax spokesperson Peter Miller. "Singapore Changi was ahead in the survey for part of the project period and the final vote differential between these two airports were among the closest results we have seen."

The Skytrax survey was conducted from June 2003 to March 2004, from a total of 4.85 million eligible survey nominations, representing 86 different nationalities of travelers. Passengers were asked to nominate a best airport based on prime satisfaction drivers.

Meanwhile, the International Air Transport Association in late April named HKIA the best airport worldwide, giving it a Special Recognition Award for "leading levels of service reflected in surveys carried out before and after the severe acute respiratory syndrome crisis." HKIA ranked the highest in overall passenger satisfaction, as well as with business travelers.

The survey, conducted on all aspects of passengers' airport experience, covered 31 service ratings for 2003. IATA took a sample of all traffic at the airport, giving questionnaires at the gate to departing passengers.