Not a big surprise.  It was an interesting concept, but the combination of being known as a budget airline (and one that is owned by a PRC company) and flying to Gatwick (rather than Heathrow) appears not to have been a winner.   Hong Kong Airlines abandons Gatwick London's business-class-only link to Hong Kong is to…

I found this article in The Guardian about Air Asia X, another allegedly budget long-haul airline: 'This is budget travel. We demand to suffer'.  Ryan, a 33-year-old electrician standing behind me in the queue, is moving to Melbourne with his girlfriend to start a new life. "I tried to book as soon as I heard about…

The Standard is still following up on the collapse of Oasis.  As I mentioned last week, it does appear that the directors of the company had some serious disagreements (Feud not fuel downed Oasis): Quarrelling between various investors led to the collapse of Oasis Hong Kong Airlines not high oil prices or a flawed business…

Both the SCMP and The Standard have the collapse of Oasis on their front pages – with much more coverage inside. It’s also the lead story on the TV news, where the main focus is the stranded passengers.  Bizarrely, it still seems to be compulsory to refer to Oasis as a "budget airline", even though…

Shocking, but perhaps not surprising news (Hong Kong budget carrier to stop flying): HONG KONG: Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, a 17- month-old budget carrier, said it will stop flying, becoming at least the fourth airline worldwide to halt operations in less than two weeks amid surging fuel costs. The carrier has applied for a voluntary…

I see that Oasis has won an award.  Cathay must be a bit worried, because they have come up with a curious style of advert that tries to make out that they are a budget airline (except, of course, so much better, lah).  And, yes, they only use to advertise services to Vancouver and London…

I have to admit that I’m still intrigued by Oasis.  Here’s an interesting quote (in The Australian): Stephen Miller, chief executive of Oasis, said: “Where are traditional carriers most vulnerable? They are vulnerable at the front (of the aircraft).” I think that’s correct (and I’ve been arguing that for a long time).  This summer, Cathay…

I must have been busy, because I seem to have only just got round to reading The Economist from 2 weeks ago, which has an article about Oasis Hong Kong Airways (Fare game): Part of the formula is familiar: flying one type of aircraft to reduce maintenance costs, landing at second-division airports, vigorous outsourcing and so…