Oasis Hong Kong Airline

Undated Image Source: South China Morning Post

HF: Oasis Hong Kong Airlines was founded by Rev. Raymond C. Lee, and his wife Priscilla K. Lee in February 2005. The chief executive, Steve Miller, was founder and first chief executive of another Hong Kong based airline, Dragonair. Its inaugural route to London commenced on 26th October 2006. The first flight, flight 08 700, took off from Hong Kong International Airport after a 24 hour delay. The airline had been scheduled to begin operations on 25th October, but Russia revoked the London based flight’s fly-over rights at 12.09pm, one hour before the flight’s scheduled departure.

Oasis originally operated as a low fare airline. and claimed that it had already broken even after the first six months of operation. The airline said this was achieved through flying long haul so as to decrease maintenance and fuel costs. It also had a lower cost per passenger kilometers compared to other airlines in Hong Kong.

Oasis’s subsequent liquidation proved the airlines’s unviability in practice. In an attempt to be competitive the airline offered lower than sustainable fares leading to rapidly accumulating losses.

Oasis Hong Kong Airlines was liquated on 9th April 2008. The last flight 08 901 departed from Vancouver at 10.15am and arrived at Hong Kong at 3.09pm.(1)

Steven Miller, Dragonair’s general manager, secured rights to fly to several Mainland Chinese cities and to further destinations in Japan and Southeast Asia.

Some 20 years later, in October 2006, Miller and fellow investors continued to make waves in the airline industry when they inaugurated budget 747 flights to London with Hong Kong’s latest airline – Oasis Hong Kong Airlines. The airline began services to Vancouver in June 2007 and was voted the ‘World’s Leading New Airline’ at the Annual World Travel Awards in the same year. On 9th April 2008, Oasis Hong Kong announced that it had ceased operations with a provisional liquidator appointed to oversee the liquidation of the company.(2)

Sources:

1. Wikipedia
2. An illustrated history of transport in Hong Kong: From Sedan Chair to Jumbo Jet.

This article was first posted on 2nd August 2024.

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