Hong Kong Airlines could be set to cut its fleet by more than a quarter

Hong Kong Airlines could slash the number of planes it flies by more than a quarter in a drastic bid to balance its books as it is badgered once again by the government over its finances and clouded by lawsuits over unpaid dues.<br/>The cash-strapped company is studying plans to transfer some aircraft to its main shareholder HNA, return planes to aircraft-leasing companies or scrap planes outright, the Post understands. It is close to deciding to chop the number of passenger jets from 38 to 28 as part of a massive restructuring effort, focused on removing the smaller variant of its largest jets, the Airbus A330-200. A source familiar with the plans said the decision would mean “quite a big cut of the A330 fleet”. Hong Kong Airlines did not deny a plan to shrink the number of planes it operates, saying: “We are working on consolidating and optimising our network and fleet.”<br/>