Virgin Australia has confirmed it will operate Airbus A330 services from Australia to Hong Kong starting in middle of 2017.

It has not yet been announced from which Australian city these new services will operate from at this time. Flights will be operated in collaboration with the airlines of VA shareholder HNA Aviation Group. These include Hong Kong Airlines and Hainan Airlines.

Virgin Australia CEO, Mr John Borghetti states these flights are a “game changer for travel between Australia and China, providing significantly more competition and choice for travellers. The alliance will accelerate and support our access to the Chinese market, which is Australia’s fastest growing and most valuable inbound travel market.”

Virgin Australia’s Hong Kong services will add to the existing flights for the Australia – Hong Kong market. QANTAS operates non-stop services from Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Cathay operates non-stop flights from Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, The latest entrant is Hong Kong Airlines which operates regular services to the Gold Coast and Cairns and it is likely to be in code-share with VA.