VANCOUVER — Hong Kong Airlines celebrated its 18th anniversary last week with an announcement: the resumption of twice-weekly direct flights between Vancouver and Hong Kong set to start Jan. 18, 2025.

Vancouver was Hong Kong Airlines’ first North American destination, launched in June 2017 and has consistently proven a popular route, said Hong Kong Airlines Chairman, Yan Bo.

“We are thrilled to welcome Vancouver back as Hong Kong Airlines’ first North American destination. We aim to attract more travellers to experience Vancouver’s beauty, facilitating family reunions and business collaborations. The route will further strengthen our Asian network and offer global passengers more diverse and convenient travel options, connecting Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area, Oceania, and North America,” he said.

After a restructuring last year, Hong Kong Airlines has been enhancing its services and expanding its operations, to 30+ destinations.

The airline expects to reach its annual traffic target of carrying more than five million passengers by the end of 2024. The carrier’s number of flights has recovered to pre-pandemic levels, with an average passenger load factor of 85%.

From YVR, flight HX081 departs at 1:50 a.m., arriving at 7 a.m. (Wednesday and Sundays). From Hong Kong, flight HX080 departs at 10:10 p.m. and arrives at 6:10 p.m. on Tuesdays, and departs at 11:50 p.m. for a 7:50 p.m. arrival on Saturdays.