Hong Kong Airlines

Anyone spotting in Hong Kong usually looks at Cathay Pacific first. But a second look is worth it: Hong Kong Airlines is the city’s second big network airline, flies an all-Airbus fleet and has seen more twists in a little over two decades than many older companies – from regional jets via long-haul to London and California to a return to a compact Asia-Pacific course. This page shows you how to recognize HX, what became of the A350 and where you can get the airline in front of your lens.

Hong Kong Airlines at a glance

Hong Kong Airlines is a network airline from Hong Kong headquartered in Tung Chung, right across from Hong Kong Airport on Lantau Island. Its only hub is Chek Lap Kok. From there it flies mainly to destinations in mainland China, Japan, Southeast Asia and the Pacific region, plus selected long-haul routes.

In the Hong Kong market, HX sits between two worlds. On one side is Cathay Pacific with its low-cost subsidiary HK Express and the freighter partner Air Hong Kong – all under the umbrella of the Cathay Group. On the other side are smaller players such as the young Greater Bay Airlines. With business and economy class, Hong Kong Airlines is a classic full-service airline, but much smaller than Cathay.

In corporate terms, HX belongs to the family of Hainan Airlines. Hainan Airlines took a stake in 2006, and the airline became part of the HNA Group, whose aviation arm now operates as HNA Aviation. Following the restructuring of the HNA Group, control has been attributed to the Liaoning Fangda Group since 2021.

Codes and callsign

• IATA code HX: appears in the flight number, on departure boards, boarding passes and in most schedules.
• ICAO code CRK: appears in the air traffic control flight plan and on flight trackers. The letters go back to the founding name CR Airways.
• Callsign BAUHINIA: this is how the crew identifies itself on the radio. The Bauhinia flower is the emblem of Hong Kong and also adorns the flag of the Special Administrative Region.

The ICAO abbreviation in particular confuses beginners because it has nothing to do with the current name. So when CRK shows up on the tracker, it is not an unknown exotic but Hong Kong Airlines. How to read tracker data properly is explained in the guide to flight tracking for spotters.

History: from regional jet to A330

The roots lie in CR Airways, founded in 2001 by China Rich Holdings of the Hong Kong entrepreneur Robert Yip. In 2003 CR Airways began flight operations, initially with charter flights and a leased Bombardier CRJ200 regional jet. Later came Boeing 737-800s, among others, before the airline switched entirely to Airbus. The airline was regarded as the first company to receive a new operating license after Hong Kong’s handover to China.

The big upheaval came in 2006: Hainan Airlines took a stake, and CR Airways became Hong Kong Airlines. The Bauhinia logo came with the new name. In 2007 the airline ordered 51 Airbus aircraft from the narrowbody and widebody families, and from 2010 Airbus A330s were added. In September 2010 the first A330 freighter entered service, and in October the airline joined IATA.

The ambitions reached far. In March 2012, Hong Kong Airlines started daily flights to London Gatwick. After about six months the route was history. A second attempt at long-haul followed in 2017: the first Airbus A350-900 arrived in September 2017; from December 2017 HX flew it to Los Angeles, and a few months later to San Francisco as well. Also in 2017, the cargo business was spun off as Hong Kong Air Cargo.

After that things became difficult. In 2018 and 2019 there were changes in management, the passenger fleet shrank and several long-haul routes were cut. In early 2019, local media even reported on a looming wind-down because of heavy debts. The pandemic years worsened the situation: in 2020 the airline announced the cutting of around 400 jobs, in 2021 the temporary grounding of its entire A320 fleet. During this phase the A350 also left the fleet.

Since 2024, Hong Kong Airlines has been rebuilding long-haul routes, though with the A330 instead of the A350: in early 2025 Gold Coast and Vancouver returned to the schedule, and in December 2025 Melbourne followed. Which routes exactly are served in fall 2026, you are best off checking in the current schedule.

The fleet: all Airbus

Hong Kong Airlines flies only Airbus today. The numbers vary slightly by source and cutoff date; fleet overviews from 2026 give roughly this picture:

Type	Number (as of 2026)	Use	Spotter tip
Airbus A320-200	17	Short- and medium-haul	Some with Sharklets, some with small wingtip fences; versions with and without business class
Airbus A321-200	3	dense regional routes	Rarest narrowbody, all-economy with 220 seats
Airbus A330-300	7	Regional and long-haul	The airline’s widebody, several cabin versions with business and economy
Airbus A330-200	1	inactive according to fleet data in early 2026	Shorter fuselage than the -300
A330-200F / A330-200P2F	6	Cargo for Hong Kong Air Cargo	Freighters without a row of windows, on the cargo apron

The star is the Airbus A330-300. With it HX flies both dense regional routes to mainland China and Japan and the new long-haul routes. The cabins differ by aircraft: reference sources list versions with 285, 292 and 303 seats. A single A330-200 was not in active service in early 2026.

On short-haul, the first-generation Airbus A320 dominates, supplemented by a few A321s. In 2021 the airline announced it would temporarily ground the entire A320 fleet; it is now the backbone of the regional network again. The manufacturer of all current types is Airbus.

What became of the A350?

For many spotters, Hong Kong Airlines is mainly associated with the Airbus A350-900. In September 2017 HX took delivery of the first aircraft and, from December 2017, flew the prestigious routes to the US West Coast with it. Photos from that time show the A350 in HX livery in Los Angeles and San Francisco – today they are archive material.

With the crisis from 2018 and the pandemic years, the A350 lost its job. Reference sources report that the A350 fleet was sold in 2023 and list the type among the airline’s former aircraft. So if you see a Hong Kong Airlines widebody today, it is almost certainly an A330.

There are recurring reports about further fleet planning, such as taking over used Boeing 787s from the Hainan family. Little of this has been reliably confirmed so far. Until new types actually stand on the apron, HX remains an all-Airbus airline.

A330-300 or A350? How to tell them apart

Both types are twin-engine widebodies from Airbus and are easy to confuse at a distance – especially when you are sorting older photos. A few features help.

How to tell the A350 apart from the Boeing 787 is shown in the article A350 or Boeing 787?. And because the A330 also resembles an A340 in some pictures, the comparison A330 or A340? helps – the number of engines decides.

How to recognize Hong Kong Airlines

The most important feature is the logo with the stylized Bauhinia flower. The flower is the symbol of Hong Kong, and the airline has used it as its trademark since 2006. In addition, the fuselage carries the titles “Hong Kong Airlines” together with the Chinese name 香港航空. Since 2017 the airline has advertised with the slogan “Where Hong Kong Begins”.

The paint scheme is in motion: according to reference sources, the airline is planning a new livery that puts the “blooming Bauhinia” at the center and drops the HNA Aviation logo. Depending on the aircraft, you may therefore see the old and new designs side by side. When logging sightings, note which design the aircraft carries.

There are also special liveries that are worth it for collectors. Documented ones include:

• B-LPP (A320): “Ocean Park Panda Friends,” an advertising livery for the Hong Kong amusement park, since March 2026
• B-LHR (A330-300): livery for the newspaper “Ta Kung Pao,” since December 2024

How to collect such subjects deliberately is explained in the guide Collecting and documenting special liveries.

Another recognition feature is the registration. As a Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong uses the Chinese prefix B-, but with letters instead of digits after it – typically B-H, B-K or B-L. Hong Kong Airlines aircraft often carry registrations starting with B-L. How the Chinese system works overall is explained in the article about B registrations.

Spotting Hong Kong Airlines

The best place for HX is clearly the home airport. At Chek Lap Kok you see the airline every day, often alternating with Cathay Pacific, HK Express and Greater Bay Airlines.

Which spots are worthwhile, how the three-runway system works and how to get to Sha Lo Wan or the Sky Deck without a car is described in the detailed guide Plane spotting in Hong Kong. The history of the old city airport, where HX itself never flew, can be found in the article on Kai Tak in Hong Kong.

Outside Hong Kong, HX is seen mainly in mainland China, Japan, Southeast Asia and Australia. There are currently no regular Europe flights – the London episode of 2012 is long past. If you are planning from Europe, a trip to Hong Kong is therefore the surest way to a sighting.

Common mix-ups

• Confusing HX with Cathay Pacific – both are Hong Kong network airlines but belong to completely different groups.
• Taking CRK for a foreign airline – the ICAO abbreviation comes from the founding name CR Airways and belongs to Hong Kong Airlines.
• Logging every HX widebody as an A350 – the A350 is no longer in the fleet, today it is the A330-300.
• Assigning A330 freighters to Hong Kong Airlines – the freighters fly for the sister company Hong Kong Air Cargo.
• Taking HX for an alliance member – the airline is in none of the big alliances, as the overview of Star Alliance, oneworld and SkyTeam shows.
• Equating B registrations with mainland China – Hong Kong aircraft carry B- with letters, mainland China B- with digits.

Conclusion

Hong Kong Airlines is the airline you easily overlook in Hong Kong next to Cathay Pacific – and it brings an exciting history. From CR Airways with regional jets via the London and A350 years to today’s course with A320, A321 and A330-300, the fleet has changed several times. If you watch for the Bauhinia logo, registration and ICAO code, you can assign every sighting with confidence and recognize old A350 photos for what they are today: aviation history.