Greater Bay Airlines

If you spot in Hong Kong, you mainly see the big names: the widebody jets of Cathay Pacific, the Airbus fleet of HK Express and endless cargo on top. In between, since 2022, there has been an airline that many spotters in Europe do not even know yet: Greater Bay Airlines. It is small, young and flies only Boeing 737s – and that is exactly why it is a rewarding target for anyone who likes to collect an operator completely.

Greater Bay Airlines at a glance

Greater Bay Airlines (GBA) is a passenger airline from Hong Kong based in Tung Chung on Lantau Island, just a few kilometers from Hong Kong Airport. The airline flies exclusively from this hub and connects Hong Kong with destinations in mainland China, Taiwan, Japan and Southeast Asia.

The company’s history is older than its flight operations. The company was registered in Hong Kong in May 2010 as Donghai Airlines, as an offshoot of the mainland Chinese airline of the same name. Several renamings followed: in early 2019 to Donghai Airlines (Hong Kong), in late 2019 to Hong Kong Bauhinia Airlines and finally, in July 2020, to Greater Bay Airlines. The entrepreneur Bill Wong Cho-bau is considered its founder and chairman.

The name says it all. It refers to the Greater Bay Area, the metropolitan region made up of Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in Guangdong Province. By its own account, the airline wants to connect Hong Kong with this region and the rest of Asia and strengthen the Hong Kong hub – not as a competitor to the widebody airlines, but as a price-conscious provider on shorter routes. GBA describes itself as a “value carrier” and sees itself as the region’s low-fare airline.

The long road to the first scheduled flight

Around two years passed between the 2020 renaming and the first scheduled flight. In July 2020, GBA applied to Hong Kong’s aviation authority, the CAD, for its Air Operator’s Certificate, the operating permit. The process dragged on, partly because Cathay Pacific raised objections and the license was then negotiated in a closed hearing. On October 8, 2021, GBA received the certificate and, by its own account, became Hong Kong’s eighth airline.

The first aircraft, a used Boeing 737-800, had already arrived in September 2021. Because the pandemic had almost completely paralyzed passenger traffic in Hong Kong at the time, GBA initially flew only individual charter flights from late November 2021. The scheduled service license from the air transport authority ATLA followed in February 2022, and the second 737-800 landed in Hong Kong in March 2022. On July 23, 2022, scheduled service finally began – with the Hong Kong–Bangkok route.

The network has been growing step by step since then. Tokyo was added in January 2023, and over the course of 2023 Osaka and Manila, among others; Taipei has also been part of the network since the first years of operation. Not every route lasted: Seoul, Singapore and Ho Chi Minh City were dropped again. In March 2024, GBA joined the industry association IATA, and in August 2025 the airline, by its own announcement, welcomed its two-millionth passenger.

Codes and callsign

• IATA code HB: appears in the flight number – on the departure board in Hong Kong, on the ticket and in the schedule.
• ICAO code HGB: appears in the air traffic control flight plan and on most flight trackers.
• Callsign GREATER BAY: this is how the crew checks in on the radio, for example “Greater Bay two-nine-five”.

How IATA and ICAO codes are assigned in general is explained in the article IATA and ICAO codes explained.

The fleet: Boeing 737s only

Greater Bay Airlines consistently relies on a single aircraft type – the Boeing 737 in two generations. According to the available fleet overviews, the fleet looked like this in mid-2026:

Type	Number	Seats	Registrations	Spotter tip
Boeing 737-800	6	189 (economy only)	B-KJA to B-KJF	Taken over used, partly leased
Boeing 737-9 (737 MAX 9)	2	197 (8 premium class, 189 economy)	B-KWA, B-KWB	In service since late 2025
Boeing 737-9	13 outstanding	–	–	Remainder of an order for 15 aircraft

The Boeing 737-800 has been the backbone so far. All of them are used aircraft with different histories: several originally came from Norwegian, one from Taiwan’s China Airlines, two from the former parent company Donghai Airlines. Some of them are leased from a leasing company of the Chinese bank ICBC. How such arrangements work is explained in the article on aircraft leasing. Two other former Donghai 737-800s were only briefly in service at GBA and have left the fleet again.

In March 2023, GBA ordered 15 Boeing 737-9s from Boeing – the first order for brand-new aircraft in the airline’s history. The first Boeing 737 MAX 9, registration B-KWA, arrived in November 2025 and flew its first scheduled flight to Bangkok on November 25, 2025; the second followed in December 2025. The remaining aircraft are due to arrive gradually by the end of the decade – the exact pace depends, as with all 737 customers, on Boeing’s deliveries.

With the 737-9, GBA also introduces a second class for the first time. According to the airline, the premium class offers seats more than 20 inches wide with 40 inches of pitch, plus power at the seat, more free baggage and food included. The cabin has the Boeing Sky Interior with larger windows and LED lighting. GBA states that the new type burns around 16 percent less fuel than its predecessors.

737-800 or 737-9? How to tell them apart

At GBA, both generations fly in the same livery. The 737-9 is, however, around 2.6 meters longer than the 737-800, and some details give away the new generation even from a distance. You will find a detailed guide for all variants in the article Telling Boeing 737 generations apart.

With such a small fleet, the registration is the fastest way: so far, all 737-800s carry B-KJ registrations and the two 737-9s B-KW. Whether GBA keeps this pattern for further deliveries cannot be said for sure – when in doubt, rely on the engines and winglets. Which type codes mean what on trackers is explained in the article on ICAO type designators.

How to recognize Greater Bay Airlines

The standard livery is kept simple: a light fuselage with “Greater Bay Airlines” titles and the airline’s logo on the tail, overall in shades of blue and white. Because the fleet is so small, any deviation stands out. Since June 2025, one 737-800 has flown as the first “Greater Bay Area Aircraft” with a special livery promoting cooperation between Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area. In March 2026, GBA unveiled a second aircraft in this style. For livery collectors, these two aircraft are the airline’s most sought-after subjects – tips on collecting systematically can be found under Collecting and documenting special liveries.

A second feature is the registration. As a special administrative region, Hong Kong uses the Chinese nationality mark B-, but with its own letter sequences: Hong Kong aircraft begin with H, K or L after the B-. A B-K… on the tail therefore tells you right away that the aircraft is registered in Hong Kong and not on the mainland or in Taiwan. More on the system is in the article on Chinese B registrations.

The route network

With the range of a Boeing 737, GBA covers a radius of a few flight hours. According to the airline’s website, these regions, among others, are in the network in fall 2026:

• Mainland China: numerous cities, often away from the very biggest metropolises, such as Kunming, Guilin, Quanzhou, Xuzhou, Datong, Zhangjiajie, Yichang, Zhoushan and, seasonally, Enshi or Wuhan
• Taiwan: Taipei-Taoyuan
• Japan: Tokyo-Narita, Osaka-Kansai, Fukuoka, Sapporo and Sendai
• Southeast Asia: Bangkok, Manila, Surabaya, Phu Quoc and, seasonally, for example Da Nang or Tawau on Borneo
• Maldives: Malé, mainly at holiday peaks

Seasonal routes are typical for GBA: many destinations are served only during holiday periods such as Chinese New Year, summer or Christmas and then paused again. The network therefore changes more often than at established airlines. According to GBA, the Hong Kong authority’s license includes scheduled service rights on 176 routes – far more than the airline actually flies.

Spotting Greater Bay Airlines in Hong Kong

The best place for GBA is the hub itself. Chek Lap Kok Airport has operated with three runways since November 2024, which makes things more varied for spotters but also takes more planning: depending on the runway direction in use and runway assignment, aircraft land in very different places. The guide Plane spotting in Hong Kong gives an overview of the known locations around the airport; if you are interested in history, the legendary old Kai Tak Airport tells the backstory of Hong Kong aviation.

Because GBA has only eight aircraft (as of mid-2026), you can realistically catch the whole fleet during a longer stay. A look at the daily schedule shows you when particularly many HB flights arrive or depart. Plan ahead with the sun position – Hong Kong lies south of the Tropic of Cancer, and the light moves differently from what you are used to in Central Europe.

Besides GBA, it is worth looking at the neighbors in Hong Kong: Cathay Pacific with long-haul jets, HK Express in the low-cost segment, Hong Kong Airlines and the freighters of Air Hong Kong. From nearby Macau, Air Macau adds Airbus aircraft.

Common mix-ups

• Confusing GBA with Hong Kong Airlines – both carry “Hong Kong” in or around the name, but Hong Kong Airlines flies Airbus, GBA only Boeing 737s.
• Thinking GBA is a Cathay Pacific subsidiary – that is HK Express. Greater Bay Airlines is an independent company.
• Taking every B- for mainland China – B-K… stands for a Hong Kong registration.
• Logging the 737-9 as a 737-800 – look at the engines and winglets; the difference in length alone is not always obvious.
• Equating GBA with mainland China’s Donghai Airlines – the roots are shared, but today they are separate airlines with their own codes.
• Taking old seasonal routes for permanent connections – GBA flies many destinations only at certain holiday periods.

Conclusion

Greater Bay Airlines is the newest chapter of Hong Kong aviation: a company with several names in its past, a small, pure Boeing 737 fleet and a network that breathes with the holiday seasons. For spotters, the size is precisely the appeal. Eight aircraft, two generations of the 737 and two special liveries – that is a collection you can actually complete during a stay in Hong Kong.