HONG Kong Airlines will ground its daily Hongkong-London (Gatwick) flights on September 10, barely five months after the all-business class service was launched in March.

Hong Kong Airlines president, Yang Jiang Hong, said the decision was made after a review of the carrier's European strategy as a result of the continued weak economic outlook in Europe.

“We believe that a regional model focused on Asia-Pacific is most appropriate for Hong Kong Airlines at this stage of our growth. Our key focus will be building our regional network and strengthening our business across China, South-east Asia, Japan and South Korea," said Yang.

“Our plan is to re-deploy the three specially-equipped, all-business class Airbus A330-200s which currently service the London route to charter flights following the suspension,” he added.

Joyce Fung, director of Happy Star Travel Services, which caters mainly to business travellers, said: “There are many (alternative) choices for the London-Hong Kong route, like Cathay Pacific and British Airways. Of course, Hong Kong Airline’s price is attractive to FITs.”