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Oasis Hong Kong Airlines 甘泉香港航空
IATA O8	ICAO OHK	Callsign OASIS
Founded		February 2005
Hubs		Hong Kong International Airport
Fleet size		2 (3 on order)
Destinations		2 (7 planned)(HKG&LGW)
Parent company		Oasis Hong Kong Airlines
Headquarters		Hong Kong
Key people		Stephen H. Miller, (CEO) Rev. Raymond C. Lee & Priscilla H. Lee, (Chairman and Executive Director)
Website: http://www.oasishongkong.com/

Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, (Traditional Chinese: 甘泉香港航空有限公司), established in February 2005, is a budget airline based in Hong Kong, with its hub at Hong Kong International Airport. Its inaugural route to London commenced service on October 26, 2006, ^[1] and there are plans to add more routes to other destinations in Europe, Canada, and the U.S. Oasis has a fleet of two ex-Singapore Airlines Boeing 747-412 aircraft.

Oasis Hong Kong Airlines was founded by a Pastor, Rev. Raymond C. Lee, and his wife, Priscilla H. Lee. The chief executive, Steve Miller, was founder and first chief executive of another Hong Kong-based airline, Dragonair.

Oasis is only the second, with the now defunct Laker Airways Skytrain service being the first, long-haul passenger airline to adopt a budget airline model. It offers non-stop service from Hong Kong to London, and starting June 28, 2007 to Vancouver, and is planning routes to Milan (Italy), Berlin, Cologne/Bonn (Germany) and destinations in the U.S. (Oakland, Chicago).

Tickets are sold through the company website and travel agents. One-way economy fares for the Hong Kong-London route start at £75 or HK$1,000 (excluding taxes and charges) for at least 10% of the seats available and include hot meals and in-flight entertainment. Business class fares start at £470 or HK$6,600 (excluding taxes and charges).

Contents 1 History 1.1 Beginnings 2 Services 3 Business strategies 4 Fleet 5 Destinations 5.1 East Asia 5.2 Europe 6 Planned destinations 6.1 Europe 6.2 North America 7 References 8 See also 9 External links

The airline's first flight, flight O8 700, took off from Hong Kong International Airport on October 26, 2006, after a 24-hour delay.^[1] The airline had been scheduled to begin operations on October 25, but Russia revoked the London-bound flight's fly-over rights at 12:09 PM, one hour before the flight's scheduled departure.^[2][1] These were reinstated the next day temporarily, allowing the maiden flight to proceed.^[1] The return flight too was not without trouble, departing over two hours late and minus twenty passengers who were removed for safety reasons after an emergency exit door was damaged by an LGW caterer. Flight O8 707 completed the first direct link between London Gatwick Airport and Hong Kong International Airport, via airspace over Turkey, Middle East and India. This route will be used by Oasis until they are given permanent access to the Russian airspace, and extends the flight time by 1 hour to 2 hours and 10 minutes between Hong Kong and Gatwick. Oasis revised their flight schedule on November 2 to reflect this temporary change of flight route. They have claimed to be given access to Russian airspace from December 1, according to the latest official news update.

One unique selling point for Oasis is that it allows passengers to personalise their trip by purchasing optional services. Seatback entertainment and hot meals are included in the base fare, but passengers can order better food (Gourmet Meal Service), champagne, black forest cake and even cosmetic kits.

Though the airline offers substantially lower fares than other carriers flying the same routes, it provides a similar level of passenger space. The seat pitch of economyOasis is 32" (same or slightly more than other airlines flying between Hong Kong and London), and a businessOasis section offers a 60" seat pitch for business travellers and higher-end leisure passengers. The 747-400 cabins are configured for 81 business and 278 economy passengers.

On Feburary 28th, 2007, Oasis Hong Kong moved all its passenger check-in operation into the newly commissioned Terminal 2 of the Hong Kong International Airport, being the first airlines in Hong Kong to do so.

Though Oasis is a low-fare airline, it aims to break even in its first 12 to 18 months of operation.^[3] The airline says that this is done through flying long-haul so as to decrease maintenance and fuel costs. ^[4]It also has a lower cost per passenger-kilometer compared to other airlines in Hong Kong.^[4] Business passengers^[4], and those who used to have to transfer en-route to get to London ^[5], would be Oasis' main sources of revenue. Like many other airlines, Oasis plans to hedge a proportion of its fuel purchases to guard against future fuel price increases^[5].

• 2 x Boeing 747-412 previously owned by Singapore Airlines. Fleet Registration: B-LFA, B-LFB.

The aircraft, B-LFA (cn 24063/ln 736), was delivered to Singapore Airlines on July 11, 1989, with registration 9V-SMC. It was leased to China Airlines as 3B-SMC in the mid-1990s to cover for the loss of another Boeing 747-400 which overshot the runway at Hong Kong Kai Tak Airport in 1993. Later on, it was leased to Iberia Airlines with registration TF-AMA. The aircraft was owned by SIA Engineering Co. Ltd. prior to being sold to Oasis. It was delivered to Oasis on September 19, 2006.

The second aircraft, B-LFB (cn 24065/ln 761), was delivered to Singapore Airlines on December 13, 1989, with registration 9V-SME. It was leased to Air Atlanta Icelandic and Iberia Airlines with registration TF-AMB from 2004 to 2006. It was delivered to Oasis on November 18, 2006. With the two aircraft, Oasis began to offer daily non-stop flights between Hong Kong and London on November 24, 2006.

All Nippon Airways announced on 6 March 2007 that it has successfully sold three Boeing 747-400s to Oasis Growth Income and Investments Limited, for operation by Oasis Hong Kong Airlines. These three 747s are amongst the newest 747s in the entire ANA fleet, which were delivered to ANA by Boeing between 1999 and 2000. ^[6]

As the ex-ANA and ex-SIA's 747-400s are powered by different engines, the former using GE's CF-80s and ther latter PW4000s from Pratt and Whitney, the arrival of the ANA planes will certainly compromise parts commonality thus complicating maintenance operation.

Oasis aims to have a fleet of 25 aircraft in the next five years. ^{[7][3][8][3][8]} The expansion was supposed to be funded from the initial public offering of the company, originally planned in mid-2007^[7], but the IPO was postponed until 2009^[8].

Registration	CN	Aircraft	Previous ID	Notes
B-LFA	24063/LN736	Boeing 747-412	9V-SMC, 3B-SMC, TF-AMA.	Original Livery
B-LFB	24065/LN761	Boeing 747-412	9V-SME, TF-AMB.	Original Livery
B-LFC	29263/LN1204	Boeing 747-481	JA404A	to be delivered by Apr 2007
B-LFD	30322/LN1250	Boeing 747-481	JA405A	to be delivered by Sep 2007
B-LFE	29262/LN1199	Boeing 747-481	JA403A	to be delivered by 1st quarter of 2008

The airline currently only operates one route, from Hong Kong International Airport to London Gatwick. On 6 Mar 2007, Oasis announced it expects to introduce a six-weekly service to Vancouver International Airport, the focus city of another low cost carrier Westjet, from 28 June 2007 subject to government approval. The airline stated in its press release that "It’s a market where there is substantially less reliance on feeder traffic." makes Vancouver the "preferred next destination", suggested nothing about the Westjet connectivity. It was believed that Oakland International Airport was the second destination to be launched. ^[9] Other routes are also planned, mostly leading budget carrier hubs. London Gatwick, Milan Malpensa and Berlin Schönefeld, for instance, are hubs for UK's budget carrier easyJet, which serves over 30 European destinations. Cologne Bonn Airport is the main hub of German low cost airline, Germanwings. In addition, Oakland International Airport is a focus city for Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways. The airline is currently in talks with these airlines for connection arrangements. ^[10] Oasis currently has an arrangement to allow its passengers to connect to easyJet flights at Gatwick through Oasis' "indirect relationship" with easyJet.^[8]

• Hong Kong
  • Hong Kong (Hong Kong International Airport) Main hub

• United Kingdom
  • London (London Gatwick Airport)

• France
  • Paris^[3]
• Germany
  • Berlin (Schönefeld International Airport)^[7]
  • Cologne (Cologne Bonn Airport)^[7]
• Italy
  • Milan (Malpensa International Airport)^[7]
• Switzerland
  • Zurich^[3]

• Canada
  • Vancouver (Vancouver International Airport)
    • Starts from 28 June 2007, six flights weekly, subject to Government approval.^[3][8][11]
  • Toronto^[3]
• United States
  • Boston (Logan International Airport)^[4][7]
  • Chicago (O'Hare International Airport)^[7][3]
  • Los Angeles^[3]
  • Oakland (Oakland International Airport)
    • Planned to be launched by June 2007 with the launch of Vancouver service. Official confirmation is yet to be announced. ^[3][7][8]
  • New York City^[3]

1. ^ ^{a b c d} "Travelers find date with Oasis no longer a mirage", The Standard, 2006-10-27. Retrieved on January 10, 2007. “The territory's first long-haul budget airline - finally got off the ground Thursday [26 October] after an overnight delay caused by Russia's refusal to allow the carrier's maiden flight over its airspace... The airline said it was still confused as to why Moscow had withdrawn permission for the airline to overfly the country at the last minute.”
2. ^ "甘泉正午才獲悉取消航權(Oasis notified of revoke only at noon)", Yahoo! Hong Kong News, Ming Pao, 2006-10-25. Retrieved on January 20, 2007. (in Chinese) “甘泉航空主席李卓民說，他們在正午十二時零九分才獲悉俄羅斯突然取消飛越領空權，感到很詫異。 (Oasis Chair Raymond C. Lee said that they only received the Russian's cancellation of Oasis' right to fly over at 12:09 pm, and that they felt surprised.)”
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k} "Moscow grounds Oasis on first day", The Standard, 2006-10-26. Retrieved on January 20, 2007. “The airline aims to break even within 12 to 18 months. "Our vision is to give Hong Kong high-quality, low-fare and direct flight services,"[...] Lee said the airline wants to increase its fleet to five planes in its first year of operation, rising to 25 planes in five years[...] Lee said the airline has obtained licenses to fly to Chicago, Milan, Berlin and Cologne/Bonn. It is filing applications to operate to Vancouver, Toronto, Zurich, Paris, New York and Los Angeles. Lee said the carrier is in talks to join other budget airlines for connections to the rest of Europe and North America. It has opened talks with UK-based easyJet and Ryanair, as well as Germanwings, Southwest Airlines and JetBlue.”
4. ^ ^{a b c d} "Budget airline Oasis seeks more destinations before maiden flight", The Standard, 2006-08-28. Retrieved on January 20, 2007. “Lee[...] said the airline was considering potential destinations such as Boston and Hawaii[...] Long-haul flying times of between 12 and 14 hours, would save more on fuel and maintenance costs compared to short-haul flights of eight to 12 hours. Oasis is able to control operating expenses at a cost of around HK$3 per ASK (available seat kilometers), compared to the HK$6 or more [for] other carriers[...] The low-cost carrier has room to set fares that are 40 to 50 percent lower than those of established carriers, he said[...] business class will be the main revenue earner for Oasis, accounting for 60 percent[...]”
5. ^ ^{a b} "甘泉明春推千元飛三藩市(Oasis flys to SFO for $1000 next Spring)", Yahoo! Hong Kong News, Ming Pao, 2006-08-07. Retrieved on January 20, 2007. (in Chinese) “他相信以往要轉機飛往倫敦的客戶，將會成為甘泉的主要客源，估計有關客戶將佔甘泉總體客量的50%[...]不過，為減輕油價對公司的影響，他透露甘泉將參與燃油對沖，估計將為集團燃油使用量中的50%至60%作對沖。他指作燃油對沖主要是為了能準確預算未來燃油的支出。 (He [Miller] believes clients who had to transfer en route to London will become the main source of clients for Oasis, estimated to be around 50% of Oasis' total passenger capacity[...] Though to decrease the effect of oil prices on the company, he revealed that Oasis will participate in oil hedging, around 50%-60% of oil that would be used may be hedged. He said that oil hedging is to be able to better account for fuel expenditures in the future.)”
6. ^ http://www.ana.co.jp/eng/aboutana/press/2006/070306.html
7. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} "$1,000 London flights to start next month: Oasis", The Standard, 2006-09-05. Retrieved on January 20, 2007. “Oasis is looking to establish routes to six other destinations, including Milan, Italy; Berlin and Bonn in Germany; and Chicago and Oakland in the United States. Other possible US routes include Hawaii and Boston. Lee [...] said Monday he hopes to build a fleet of 25 aircraft over the next five years to fly to 50 to 60 destinations, with four or five planes beginning operation by the end of this year. Lee said the company plans to launch an initial public offering in mid-2007 to raise about HK$10 billion.”
8. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "Oasis Airlines takes up 2009 listing plan with investors", Yahoo! Hong Kong News, South China Morning Post, 2007-01-11. Retrieved on January 11, 2007. “Oasis [...] is in talks with private equity funds and airlines that could buy into the airline before it goes public in 2009, says chief executive Stephen Miller. The carrier also plans to begin a service to Oakland, California, in June and expects to get approval to fly to Vancouver in three months. Oasis would take delivery of three Boeing 747-400s by October and planned to deploy 25 aircraft in the next five years[...] 'We will offer the ticket prices [to Oakland and Vancouver] as low as HK$1,000, the same level as what we do for London,' he said[...] Mr Miller said he was comfortable with the existing "indirect relationship" between Oasis and Britain-based easyJet that allows some Oasis passengers to connect with easyJet. Mr Miller said that more management was needed to be hired to examine the alliance, which would end up increasing costs and raising ticket prices.”
9. ^ http://corp.oasishongkong.com/hk/en/pr.aspx?pr_id=OHKAGenHKPREN070306
10. ^ "Schlechter Start der ersten Billig-Airline für Langstreckenflüge", Deutsche Welle, 2006-10-25. Retrieved on January 10, 2007. (in German) “Wie Lee betonte, hat die Airline auch Fluglizensen für Chicago, Mailand, Berlin und Köln/Bonn erhalten. Anträge für Vancouver, Toronto, Zürich, Paris, New York und Los Angeles werden zur Zeit bearbeitet. Lee sagte, die Fluggesellschaft führe Gespräche mit anderen Billig-Airlines für Verbindungen zum restlichen Europa und zu Nordamerika. Oasis stehe im Dialog mit easyJet und Ryanair sowie mit Germanwings, Southwest Airlines und JetBlue.”
11. ^ "Oasis launch Vancouver service in June", Tai Kung Pao, 2007-03-07. Retrieved on 2007-03-07. (in Chinese) http://www.takungpao.com/inc/print_me.asp?url=/news/07/03/07/KE-701806.htm&date=07

• List of Hong Kong companies

• Oasis Hong Kong Airlines Official site
• Oasis Hong Kong Airlines -- Repaint of Flight Simulator PMDG 747-400
• Skytrax Passenger Opinion of Oasis Hong Kong Airlines
• Airliners.net
• International Travellers Association
• Long Haul Budget Airline Takes Off in Hong Kong (October 26, 2006)
• Two planes from Japan to serve Hong Kong <-> Oakland flights (January 10, 2007)
• Hong Kong <-> Oakland flight starts in June, daily flights in August (January 11, 2007)