Hong Kong Airlines has inaugurated direct flights between Hong Kong International Airport and Melbourne, restoring a long-haul link that disappeared during the pandemic and giving Victoria its 41st foreign carrier. Flight HX013 touched down at Melbourne Airport to a water-cannon salute before returning to Hong Kong, marking the first of three weekly Airbus A330 rotations scheduled for Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
The launch follows the recent expansion of bilateral air-services rights between Australia and Hong Kong, which lifted previous capacity caps and opened the door for additional competitors on the busy corridor. Melbourne–Hong Kong is already the city’s fourth-busiest international route; the new flights inject more than 93,000 annual seats—capacity that tourism officials say could generate over AU$100 million in visitor spending and freight revenues in the first year alone.
For corporate mobility managers, the extra frequencies create welcome inventory during the southern-summer peak and give multinational firms with dual hubs in the Greater Bay Area and Australia added scheduling flexibility. Travellers working under Hong Kong’s various talent-attraction visas (e.g., QMAS, TTPS) also benefit from another nonstop option for family visits and visa-run trips.
Whether you’re a Hong Kong resident heading to Australia or an Aussie planning meetings in the Greater Bay, VisaHQ can streamline the paperwork. Its Hong Kong portal (https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/) provides step-by-step online applications, real-time status alerts and expert support for Australian visitor visas, Chinese work permits and dozens of other travel documents—saving corporate travel teams and independent flyers valuable time and hassle.
![Hong Kong Airlines launches thrice-weekly Melbourne service, adding 93,000 seats a year]()
On the cargo side, the additional belly-hold space supports Australia’s booming fresh-produce exports to East Asia and the surge in e-commerce flows into Victoria.
The route is operated with two-class A330-300 aircraft offering 32 business-class lie-flat seats and 260 economy seats, equipped with the airline’s upgraded in-flight Wi-Fi. Hong Kong Airlines says it will consider increasing frequency to daily if forward bookings and yield hold, noting that Melbourne Airport processed a record one million international passengers in November—the best month in its history.
More broadly, the service underscores Hong Kong’s continuing recovery as an aviation hub. With Cathay Pacific already back above 80 destinations and HK Express adding regional routes, the new long-haul link signals confidence that corporate and leisure demand is strong enough to sustain multi-carrier competition. Airport Authority Hong Kong believes the 2025 summer timetable will see overall seat capacity reach 90 % of the 2019 level, aided by third-runway phasing and streamlined e-gate clearance.
Travel managers should update booking tools to include HX’s ‘HX’ code in preferred-airline displays and check corporate-contract eligibility; introductory fares start at HK$3,880 return, but are inventory-controlled. Shippers should lock space early for Lunar New Year perishables, as peak-season pallets are already 70 % sold, according to Melbourne freight forwarders.
The launch follows the recent expansion of bilateral air-services rights between Australia and Hong Kong, which lifted previous capacity caps and opened the door for additional competitors on the busy corridor. Melbourne–Hong Kong is already the city’s fourth-busiest international route; the new flights inject more than 93,000 annual seats—capacity that tourism officials say could generate over AU$100 million in visitor spending and freight revenues in the first year alone.
For corporate mobility managers, the extra frequencies create welcome inventory during the southern-summer peak and give multinational firms with dual hubs in the Greater Bay Area and Australia added scheduling flexibility. Travellers working under Hong Kong’s various talent-attraction visas (e.g., QMAS, TTPS) also benefit from another nonstop option for family visits and visa-run trips.
Whether you’re a Hong Kong resident heading to Australia or an Aussie planning meetings in the Greater Bay, VisaHQ can streamline the paperwork. Its Hong Kong portal (https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/) provides step-by-step online applications, real-time status alerts and expert support for Australian visitor visas, Chinese work permits and dozens of other travel documents—saving corporate travel teams and independent flyers valuable time and hassle.
On the cargo side, the additional belly-hold space supports Australia’s booming fresh-produce exports to East Asia and the surge in e-commerce flows into Victoria.
The route is operated with two-class A330-300 aircraft offering 32 business-class lie-flat seats and 260 economy seats, equipped with the airline’s upgraded in-flight Wi-Fi. Hong Kong Airlines says it will consider increasing frequency to daily if forward bookings and yield hold, noting that Melbourne Airport processed a record one million international passengers in November—the best month in its history.
More broadly, the service underscores Hong Kong’s continuing recovery as an aviation hub. With Cathay Pacific already back above 80 destinations and HK Express adding regional routes, the new long-haul link signals confidence that corporate and leisure demand is strong enough to sustain multi-carrier competition. Airport Authority Hong Kong believes the 2025 summer timetable will see overall seat capacity reach 90 % of the 2019 level, aided by third-runway phasing and streamlined e-gate clearance.
Travel managers should update booking tools to include HX’s ‘HX’ code in preferred-airline displays and check corporate-contract eligibility; introductory fares start at HK$3,880 return, but are inventory-controlled. Shippers should lock space early for Lunar New Year perishables, as peak-season pallets are already 70 % sold, according to Melbourne freight forwarders.
