Hong Kong Airlines will make further inroads into the Australian market in 2025 with direct thrice-weekly Melbourne–Hong Kong flights to start in December, joining the relaunched Gold Coast and brand-new Sydney services this year.
The new service will make Hong Kong Airlines the 41st carrier for Tullamarine, adding more than 93,000 seats to one of Melbourne Airport’s top five international destinations and onward connections to more than 30 destinations across Asia and North America.
Melbourne Airport CEO Lorie Argus said the latest carrier arrival will provide more choice and greater capacity into one of Asia’s biggest international hubs.
“We are so excited to welcome Hong Kong Airlines to the mix. Hong Kong is one of the largest international markets for us at Melbourne Airport so I expect there will be strong demand for the service,” she said.
The launch of the Melbourne route highlights the HK carrier’s transformation to an international airline and overarching network expansion strategy.
Hong Kong Airlines President Jeff Sun said this has been a year of significant progress for its Australian market strategy.
“Following the resumption of our Gold Coast service in January and the launch of our Sydney route in June, we are delighted to add Melbourne as another key destination within just six months,” he said.
“This establishes Hong Kong Airlines as the second local carrier to offer direct flights to Australia’s major cities and marks 2025 as a crucial milestone in our international transformation.”
Hong Kong Airlines will operate three seasonal services per week between MEL and HKG from 12 December 2025 to 28 March 2026 on its Airbus A330 aircraft.
The inaugural flight will take off from Hong Kong on 12 December, while Melbourne services will run on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, departing at 1pm and arriving in HK at 7:20pm.
In June 2025, Hong Kong’s second-largest carrier announced its intention to commence nonstop Melbourne-HK services by the end of the year.
The full-service airline recommenced Gold Coast flights on 18 January 2025 after a six-year absence from Queensland and launched daily Sydney-HK services on 20 June.
Hong Kong Airlines has announced plans to reduce its Sydney flights to four flights per week from 26 October 2025.
For more info, head to hongkongairlines.com
