An American Airlines 777-300ER (77W) taxis at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
Update 6:55PM PT: American Airlines has put out a press release on the addition of the LAX-HKG flight starting September 9. The schedule information and flight times are:
- Departs LAX at 1:55am, and arrives at HKG at 8:10am the next day (subject to regulatory approval)
- Departs HKG at 8:20pm, and arrives at LAX at 6:40pm
Furthermore, the flight will be operated as part of the joint business venture with Japan Airlines.
Original story appears below:
An eagle-eyed frequent flyer spotted an update to a page on American Airlines’ website, which indicated that the highly-anticipated service from Los Angeles (LAX) to Hong Kong (HKG) will commence on September 7 using the carrier’s flagship Boeing 777-300ER (77W). AirlineReporter confirmed that the webpage had indeed been updated to include the information on HKG, and tweeted out a screenshot of the page in the wee hours:
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This updated webpage was likely an unintended published draft, as the title still indicated that the page was about “Nonstop to Tokyo,” had information immediately following the Hong Kong news about last month’s launch of the Los Angeles-Haneda route, and quietly disappeared shortly after the screenshot was taken. However, it is now confirmed that American will start flying the route.
Screenshot of the webpage showing the launch of American’s LAX-HKG route for September 7. Image source: aa.com
At American’s “Best in LAX” event held at the Hollywood Bowl in January, the biggest news of the day was the route that was NOT announced, even though several inside sources were virtually certain that service to Hong Kong would be the crown jewel of the event; instead, there was very nice party for the announcement of several domestic routes out of LAX.
The red carpet at American’s “Best in LAX” announcement event on January 20
While the official word was that service to Hong Kong had always been just a rumor, unofficially there were issues receiving the slot times required to make the route feasible. At present, a 77W is used to fly from Dallas (DFW) to HKG, where it inefficiently sits for nineteen hours before returning to Dallas. Opening the LAX-HKG route would allow American to utilize that idle aircraft, which also avoids the overnight parking fee at HKG, which is one of the highest in the world.
American’s 77Ws feature three classes of service, with 180-degree lie-flat, all-aisle-access seating in first and business classes, as well as extra legroom in some rows of economy for elite status holders and full-fare purchasers. There are also touchscreen entertainment screens, in-seat power, and Wi-Fi access available for every seat on board.
The business class product on the American 777-300ER
AirlineReporter has reached out to American for confirmation or comment, and will update this article as more information becomes available.
(h/t Flyertalk user UAL1200)
