Air Hong Kong is planning to retire its fleet of nine A300-600 freighters in the next couple of years, with the first planes set to leave the fleet this year as per Cathay Pacific’s annual report. All the nine freighters will be returned to lessors and replaced by second-hand A330s.
Air Hong Kong, the launch customer of the A300-600F, will replace its outgoing A300s by nine Airbus A330Fs, enabling it to retain the same fleet size barring additional retirements.
Air Hong Kong secured the A330-600Fs almost 20 years back around 2004-05 and operated on behalf of DHL Express. Out of the nine aircraft, eight are leased from DHL Express while the ninth is leased from AELF - Aircraft Engine Lease Finance.
Apart from the A330-600Fs, the airline also has five A330-300 (P2F) s on lease from DHL Air and two A330-200Fs on lease from DHL Express and Altavair respectively. The annual report notes that these planes are due to be returned to lessors in 2027.
Air Hong Kong was established in 1988 with its fleet of A300 and A330s, the airline previously operated Boeing 747 freighters before shifting to an all-Airbus fleet in 2018. It operates flights on behalf of both DHL and Cathay Pacific Cargo, serving destinations including Shanghai, Chengdu, Singapore, Beijing, Bangkok, Seoul, Taipei, Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Manila, Cebu, Penang, and Ho Chi Minh City.