Oasis (LC HK Airline) goes under

[bambbbam2]

Hundreds of passengers have been left stranded after the Hong Kong airline Oasis stopped flying and applied to go into liquidation.
Oasis first flew in October 2006, offering flights from London Gatwick to Hong Kong for as little as 1,000 Hong Kong dollars (£65) each way.
It later added flights from Hong Kong to Vancouver.
KPMG, appointed as liquidator, advised ticket holders to call 00852 3628 0628 or 0844 482 2323 for more information.
Oasis operated daily flights between London and Hong Kong and six services a week between Hong Kong and Vancouver.
School holidays
Fellow Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific is offering specially priced one-way flights for stranded Oasis passengers and is scheduling extra flights.

 

[Mal]

That one is a surprise. I thought they were doing ok!

Wonder who is next.

 

[moa999]

hmm 5 744s up for grabs.
Maybe QF should pickup some and ditch the 743s - modernises the fleet a bit gives a bit more capacity before the 380s finally arrive

 

[maninblack]

hmm 5 744s up for grabs.
Maybe QF should pickup some and ditch the 743s - modernises the fleet a bit gives a bit more capacity before the 380s finally arrive

Absolutely, but given the shortage of modern widebodies around I think that they will be keenly sought after. I am sure that if they were interested they would only want the newer 1999/2000 built aircraft, not the older ones.

Oasis were due to start services to MEL Jan 09, another free pass for QF/JQ and CX.

 

[futaris]

School holidays
Fellow Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific is offering specially priced one-way flights for stranded Oasis passengers and is scheduling extra flights.

A special one-way Economy Class fare at HKD2,500 (plus applicable charges see note 1) will be offered to eligible Oasis ticket holders on Hong Kong to London, or Hong Kong to Vancouver. This special fare is only available to affected Oasis passengers by calling the Cathay Pacific hotlines directly. Payment must be settled by credit cards only.

HKD 2,500 = AUD 350

 

[JohnK]

Yes that is a real surprise. I know of a people from the UK who used this airline regularly. I am sure they will be very disappointed.

It just goes to show that it is not wise to purchase airfares on LCCs too far in advance as you many not get your money back or even worse to be left stranded. If I remember correctly someone posted on AFF that they purchased return flights to Europe/UK on a combination of LCCs that may have included Oasis. I wonder if they have already completed the trip or are one of those stranded?

Thumbs up to Cathay Pacific for doing the right thing and offering one-way airfares to those who are standed.

 

[FL360]

I think they have made a bad move by operating to Vancouver after London,
in HK Pax who goes to UK/Canada usually are the wealthier bunch, and they would prefer a full service airline.

If they operate to Sydney instead and tap into the Kangaroo route may be
their fate would be different !

I think the next one under stress is Viva Macau, may be they should operate gaming tables in the cabin after leaving Aus airspace to boost revenue !
Their FA can become dealers....

 

[stuartfaz]

This is a shame, I got the impression that they were fairly successful.

Apparently they had accumulated over $1 billion in losses across their history, so I guess it was a matter of time.

Not a good few weeks for LCCs. Oasis is the fourth airline to cark it in the last fortnight, after Aloha, ATA and Skybus.

 

[moa999]

And with oil at record prices expect to see a few more.

Can't imagine that the LCC airlines with old equipment - purchased cheap but expensive for fuel and maintenace are making much money either
(admittedly Oasis was flying 'relatively' newish 744s)

Was interesting the loss quoted on Oasis, as I seem to remember (and as there wikipedia entry suggests) that they claimed they went breakeven after 6 months
(think Jetstar made the same claim)

 

[ANstar]

)

Was interesting the loss quoted on Oasis, as I seem to remember (and as there wikipedia entry suggests) that they claimed they went breakeven after 6 months
(think Jetstar made the same claim)

I never heard about Oasis breaking even. As for JQ, they did that and are now making nearly as much profit as Virgin Blue.

 

[Harpoon]

Taxiing at HKG for takeoff on Friday on my way home, I could see the parked Oasis planes at the side of the airport. A sad sight indeed.

 

[drcam]

I flew Oasis from Hong Kong to London last year. As I was technically a student then (final year med), I managed to snatch a deal that gave me a one-way ticket for a measly 250 AUD, tax included. My family had given me some points for a RTW trip, but I spent most of it on a first class award flight from LHR to BOS and then SFO to MEL by coach; I made up for the remainder.

The flight wasn't anywhere near as bad as I expected, although the video monitors were next to non-functional; it was one of those few times I actually felt good about being a guy who's 5'0'' and 50kg. (Most of the time, as expected, I feel bitter about it.) I got served an edible dinner as well as a "dim sum breakfast" although the latter only had two pieces of dim sum (amongst some bland noodles). Got into London Gatwick on time and even got plenty of sleep.

Very sad indeed.... no more cheap flights to Europe...

 

[bravoecho1]

There are a lot of good staff that will be loosing out on Oasis going under. Most of the fleet and technical crew were ex CX and they had a really good corporate culture.

Just goes to show that if you leave yourself open to the fluctuations of the oil price then you are playing a risky game. Until DJ started heding their fuel they were leaving themselves wide open but now they have some semblance of control however don't get me started on their currency hedging - stupid move.

 

[Arthur Hodgson]

Until DJ started heding their fuel they were leaving themselves wide open but now they have some semblance of control however don't get me started on their currency hedging - stupid move.

DJ wouldn't be the first company to get their fingers burnt through currency hedging.

It's an inherently risky business...

 

[bravoecho1]

I agree Arthur.

Best example of the lot is Pasminco. Great business, good assets, they just ran their zinc hedge book incorrectly.

 

[Evan]

I saw this morning atleast 2 of the Oasis 744's are still sitting around in HKG. Not sure if they have buyers or are back up for lease yet but still in Oasis colors and could not see anything happening with them although they were hardly our of the way.
The Jet-A prices must really be scaring airlines of taking them even though they were desperate for planes some months ago, as i understand it they are not old airframes.
E

 

[AnonymousCoward]

It just goes to show that it is not wise to purchase airfares on LCCs too far in advance as you many not get your money back or even worse to be left stranded.

If you pay by major CC you can get your money back - that's one of the benefits of paying by CC.

As for purchasing tickets in advance - I think that applies to any carrier that's not making money. Unless your Alitalia and your government is willing to pour endless amounts of money into you, you're going to go under if you don't make money. It's happened to plenty of non-LCC carriers (Sabena and Swiss both went under)

 

[jpk]

I saw this morning atleast 2 of the Oasis 744's are still sitting around in HKG. Not sure if they have buyers or are back up for lease yet but still in Oasis colors and could not see anything happening with them although they were hardly our of the way.
The Jet-A prices must really be scaring airlines of taking them even though they were desperate for planes some months ago, as i understand it they are not old airframes.
E

Fleet notes here link. Out of 5x747 2 were ex-SQ, had a colourful leasing life, and are from 89. The other 3 were ex-ANA and around 2000. I imagine the first 2 would probably be harder to shift...

 

[Evan]

That being the case i am not sure, i think the ex-ANA planes would have had a tough sort haul life like the other Japanese 747's even if they were the newest ANA had. I like the comment about being replaced by 777's and 787's, i guess maybe not 787's yet

E

 

[jehane]

If you pay by major CC you can get your money back - that's one of the benefits of paying by CC.

Actually, many credit cards (and travel insurance policies) exclude losses incurred by companies going under. In fact the list of exclusions is so long these days that I begin to wonder what you *are* insured for. I know someone who lost her Oasis flight and couldn't get a cheap Cathay flight since she was flying outside the two week time window that Cathay was offering. She couldn't get anything from either her credit card or travel insurance.