Greater Bay Airlines

Airline overview

Greater Bay Airlines is a value carrier based in Hong Kong, with IATA two-letter code HB and ICAO three-letter code HGB. It is headquartered at Hong Kong International Airport, uses the airport as its operating hub and publishes at greaterbay-airlines.com.

Greater Bay Airlines obtained its scheduled air service licence from the Hong Kong Air Transport Licensing Authority in 2020, permitting services between Hong Kong and mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and other Asia-Pacific cities. In July 2022 it launched operations from Hong Kong International Airport and progressively opened scheduled flights to major Asian cities.

According to Greater Bay Airlines' published information, the airline now operates scheduled flights with Boeing 737-800 and 737-9 (737 MAX 9) aircraft, covering Asian cities such as Bangkok, Taipei, Tokyo Narita, Osaka Kansai, Fukuoka, Sapporo and Manila plus mainland Chinese points including Zhoushan, Huangshan, Yichang, Guilin, Zhangjiajie, Quanzhou, Datong, Enshi, Dunhuang and Hohhot. The three-runway system at Hong Kong International Airport opened in November 2024, giving the airline room to grow its fleet and network.

The Greater Bay Airlines licence covers 104 routes. Beyond the points already served it retains rights to major mainland cities including Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Nanjing, Xiamen, Haikou, Fuzhou, Ningbo, Tianjin, Chongqing, Wuhan, Wuxi, Kunming, Xi'an, Sanya, Jinan, Dalian and Qingdao. The airline can open new points within the licence as market demand and slots allow. For Chinese shippers this means the Hong Kong belly network may extend to more major mainland cities.

For Chinese shippers the value of Greater Bay Airlines lies in the belly connection between the Hong Kong hub and mainland Chinese tourist and trading cities. Cargo from the mainland to Hong Kong and onward to Asian cities, and cargo from Asian cities through Hong Kong to mainland points, can both move in the airline's passenger belly space.

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is one of China's most open and economically dynamic regions, and Hong Kong, as an international aviation hub, forms a one-hour living circle with Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Zhuhai and Macau. Cross-border infrastructure such as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong high-speed rail has opened road links across the Pearl River estuary, cutting the time cost of shipping western Pearl River Delta cargo through Hong Kong International Airport. Greater Bay Airlines, based in Hong Kong, draws on exactly this location to link mainland points with the Hong Kong hub and the Asian network.

In trade terms, air cargo between mainland China and Hong Kong has long been dominated by electronic components, textiles and garments, medical devices, e-commerce goods and time-critical express shipments. Most Greater Bay Airlines mainland points are tourist and trading cities: Quanzhou's footwear and building materials, Zhoushan's seafood and marine parts, tourist goods from Guilin and Zhangjiajie, and cashmere and agricultural products from Hohhot are all distinctive traffic suited to belly carriage. Moving these goods nonstop between the mainland and Hong Kong avoids routing through large hubs such as Guangzhou and Shenzhen, which creates room to improve transit time and cost.

Hong Kong International Airport is one of the world's busiest international air cargo hubs and has long ranked among the top airports by cargo volume. It has complete cargo terminals, a cross-border truck clearance platform and aircraft ground handling facilities, and can handle the assembly, palletising and transhipment of narrowbody belly cargo. Based at Hong Kong, Greater Bay Airlines can use the airport's existing cargo facilities for acceptance, loading and arrival handling without building a separate terminal.

The Pearl River Delta is China's densest export-oriented region, with large numbers of electronics, garment, furniture, toy and medical device exporters in Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Foshan and Zhuhai. Their cargo has long moved through the Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Shenzhen gateways. By opening Hong Kong to mainland points, Greater Bay Airlines gives Pearl River Delta shippers a supplementary channel through Hong Kong, particularly for small and medium lots destined for Hong Kong or connecting there to Asia.

For Asia, scheduled flights from Hong Kong to Taipei, Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Sapporo, Manila and Bangkok give mainland cargo a belly channel through Hong Kong into north-east and Southeast Asia. Cargo from mainland points can fly to Hong Kong first and then connect to a Greater Bay Airlines Asian flight or another Hong Kong carrier's Asian service, completing a cross-border move with one connection.

Company history and licence scope

Fleet and belly loading capability

The Greater Bay Airlines fleet is built around Boeing 737 family narrowbodies, with cargo carried in passenger belly space. According to the cargo pages the airline publishes, each flight offers about 22 cubic meters of belly capacity on the 737-800 and 24 cubic meters on the 737-9, where passenger load and baggage volume allow.

No public information shows that Greater Bay Airlines operates dedicated freighters. Cargo capacity comes from passenger belly space, combined with the handling facilities at Hong Kong International Airport, to provide belly transport between mainland points and Hong Kong or Asian cities. Actual capacity availability follows the load sheet on the day of booking.

Mainland China network

According to the airline's published route information, its scheduled mainland points now cover east, central, south, north and north-west China, and cargo can connect to those points through the Hong Kong hub.

Network: from China worldwide

The diagram shows belly cargo paths from the Hong Kong hub into mainland Chinese points and major Asian cities, drawn as fan arcs and long trans-oceanic arcs.

Cargo services and cargo types

Greater Bay Airlines provides scheduled cargo service through passenger belly space, mainly for small and medium lots that suit narrowbody belly loading.

General cargo and e-commerce cargo

General cargo in small and medium lots, such as textiles and garments, footwear, electronic components, small e-commerce parcels and consumer goods, suits 737-800 and 737-9 bulk belly space. Garments, footwear and tourist goods from Quanzhou, Zhoushan, Guilin and Zhangjiajie can connect at the Hong Kong hub to Asian cities.

Time-critical express

Documents, samples and urgent parts can use daily scheduled belly space and connect at the Hong Kong hub. The 737-9 has slightly more belly capacity, which suits somewhat larger time-critical lots.

Specialty and agricultural products

Cashmere and agricultural products from Hohhot, specialty dried fruit and tourist souvenirs from Dunhuang, and mountain produce from Enshi can all move by belly to Hong Kong and on to Asian markets. Footwear, building materials and textiles from Quanzhou are traditional export cargo from southern Fujian and can transit Hong Kong for Southeast and north-east Asia.

Seasonal and e-commerce peak cargo

The fourth quarter is the e-commerce and holiday peak each year, when volumes of textiles and garments, festive gifts and consumer electronics accessories rise sharply. Belly capacity on Greater Bay Airlines Hong Kong to mainland points can tighten in peak season, so shippers should book one to two weeks ahead and lock capacity. We can coordinate multi-flight pallet consolidation and split shipments to ease the pressure.

Restricted categories and categories without public data

No public information shows that Greater Bay Airlines offers dedicated products for dangerous goods, live animals or temperature-controlled cold chain. Acceptable categories follow the carrier's latest cargo manual and booking confirmation.

Loading characteristics of belly capacity

Narrowbody belly space is limited, about 22 to 24 cubic meters per flight, and piece weight and dimensions are constrained by the belly door and ULD specification. Shippers should confirm piece weight, outer dimensions and whether palletising is needed before delivery; larger lots can be split across several waybills or flights. We help shippers choose bulk tendering or pallet consolidation according to the cargo and the flight's capacity.

Transit through Hong Kong

Cargo moving from the mainland through Hong Kong to Asian cities must complete customs transit, sorting and reloading at Hong Kong International Airport. Pearl River Delta cargo can move under customs transit to Hong Kong airport by road through Shenzhen Bay, Liantang or the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge in about one to three hours. We work with long-standing trucking and declaration partners between the gateway and Hong Kong airport and set delivery and transit times backwards from the flight schedule so cargo is not held in transit.

Advantages for Chinese shippers

Booking path from China

Shippers sending cargo to Hong Kong, to mainland points or through Hong Kong to Asian cities can book and arrange transport as follows.

Our capabilities on Greater Bay Airlines

Goodhope Logistics (China) Limited operates air freight from China to Asia and tracks belly capacity and schedule changes among carriers at Hong Kong International Airport. For Greater Bay Airlines we provide the following services that Chinese shippers can use directly.

Booking and capacity monitoring at the Hong Kong hub

We work with ground agents at Hong Kong airport and carrier sales channels, can check Greater Bay Airlines 737-800 and 737-9 belly capacity availability by flight, and lock capacity ahead when it is tight so a late booking does not go unplaced.

Consolidation and customs transit at Pearl River Delta gateways

Shippers at Pearl River Delta gateways such as Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Dongguan and Foshan can deliver to our nominated warehouse, and we complete export declaration, inspection and quarantine filing and road customs transit to Hong Kong International Airport, working back from the flight.

Connections on arrival at mainland points

After arrival at Zhoushan, Huangshan, Quanzhou, Guilin, Zhangjiajie, Hohhot and other mainland points, we can help with destination clearance and delivery or connect to the local truck network for the final factory or warehouse.

Transit connections in Asia

For cargo connecting through Hong Kong to Taipei, Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Sapporo, Manila and Bangkok, we can arrange transit sorting at Hong Kong airport and booking of onward flights, so one delivery covers the whole move with end-to-end tracking.

End-to-end AWB tracking and exception handling

After delivery at the Chinese gateway we track flight status, loading and arrival time by air waybill number. On delays, capacity changes or customs inspection we notify the shipper immediately and coordinate alternatives so cargo is not left at the airport.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)