Reported that Oasis Hong Kong ceased operations today.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jLh0SBryg0QoPjKRT4Wo6xlH6wSA

Looks like you can still buy tickets though.
http://www.oasishongkong.com/gb/en/home.aspx

Packpao

With immediate effect all flight operations have ceased !

Hope other operators will help to return those stranded from their respective countries, especially the school children in HK.

LGW - HK 19 Apr return 26 Apr for £358. Looked like a bargain! Now I need to find out if my company credit card affords the same protection as for personal credit cards.

I've flown with them before as has my business partner. Flights always full (or near full). I thought they had got the business model right but I must admit that the £200 excluding taxes that I paid last week seemed very low.

Gary

yeah - flew with them at christams - not bad for what they were.

Anything that increases competition on that route was good!!

The thing as they don't have any "Heathrow Slots" a bail out from another airline doesn't look forthcoming.

- Skippy

"Low cost carrier" is not the same as a "Low Fare carrier", and an airline trying to be both can end up in big trouble.

"Cost" is how much the shareholder pays. "Fare" is what the passenger pays.

A low cost carrier providing low fares can do well when the economy is booming, fuel COSTS are low, etc. But if gas goes up and people stop flying, well, you need to rapidly increase fares or lose money. That often won't happen as it's a free kick to the opposition, esp if the opposition has deeper pockets and can hold out at lower fare points for longer.

Sadly that's likely the story here. I suspect the parties with financial stakes in Oasis are cutting their losses early.

The successful "low cost carrier" formula (esp in difficult times) will actually be a "normal fare carrier" with a significantly reduced non-fuel cost base (employees T&C's, core business only, etc), and with significant financial and operational backing. Eg, JetStar brought to you by Qantas. I don't like it but them's facts.

With oil at $110 and Oasis COMPETING against the likes of CX and BA, something had to give. What a bloody shame as I really felt they were a breath of fresh air (and that's saying something in HKG).

people certainly did not stop flying, while fuel costs rose significantly for everyone except those airlines (the majority) that hedged their fuel prices. compared with ba, oasis employees’ average salaries were falling because of the tumbling us$, so oasis ought to have been becoming more competitive, not less. did oasis fail to hedge its fuel costs? did ba and cathay pacific kill off oasis by cutting their return fares to about £400, thereby preventing oasis from raising its fares in line with fuel prices? or was it something to do with the credit crunch causing its loans to become too expensive (several american airlines have also ceased trading in the past few weeks)?

ian.

I have actually wondered whether the Business model actually works for LowCost,Longhaul. Always assumed virtually all the Revenue/Cost advantages on which the model is based accrue to shorthaul.

Direct selling/reservations systems stack base cost savings per pax, incrementally. The more thru'put, cost per goes down. Short turnarounds decrease overall cost and crucially increase the numerical number of revenue flights - translating into more - Revenue Refreshing sets of pax circulating in the system over a 24hr period - ready to buy into those checkin and inflight revenue opportunities. Shorthaul, YES; the sooner and more often we can we can get to all those new sets of revenue pax waiting for us, the better the profit!
In the Longhaul case the logic doesnt seem to work so well. Longer haul equals less cycles. Presumably less pax therefore flowing over the Salesreservations costbase equals less savings. No particular urgency or gain for a quick turnround - it wont be back for hrs day(s) - not enough ground cycles to excite the airfield into reduced rates; fuel to our small fleet Low cost operation will probably be premiumed etc etc etc
You then set off with just one Revenue Payload Pax Unit (my collective term) which you're then stuck with at yr cost for hours. Revenue ops? C'mn buy something else! No more refreshing revenue replacements for hours ahead! Quick turnaround at the other end - or overnight on the ground God help us. Longhaul doesnt seem, at first glance then to be really able to make the most from the business model. Or so it seems anyway.
I dont know what the actual cause Of Oasis's demise actually was - no case is the same - just prompted me to wonder once again whether the base model for this type of op is basically sound

Boss' share pledge 'foiled Oasis rescue' - SCMP

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HK budget airline collapses, hitting 30,000 travellers and 700 staff Quinton Chan and Dennis Eng
Updated on Apr 10, 2008 Budget airline Oasis Hong Kong, which collapsed yesterday, was on the brink of a rescue package when it was discovered that its chairman had pledged his shares in the carrier as collateral for a personal loan, a source familiar with the situation said.
The source said the discovery was made during the final stages of negotiations with HNA Group, parent group of Hainan Airlines, which had been prepared to buy out Oasis.
"You can say that he derailed the airline," the source said, referring to chairman the Reverend Raymond Lee Cho-min, who held about 60 per cent of shares in the company. It was unclear how many shares Mr Lee had pledged as collateral. He was not available for comment last night.
The rescue deal failed, prompting the world's first budget long-haul airline to file for provisional liquidation, affecting 30,000 ticket-holders and leaving 700 staff facing an uncertain future. Reports said losses had reached HK$1 billion since the airline launched services in October 2006. It is the fourth airline worldwide to cease operations in the past two weeks.
The ambitious start-up airline struggled to attract fresh capital up to the last minute, but told the government late on Tuesday that discussions with a potential investor had collapsed. The administration had learned of the airline's financial difficulties on Saturday.
Oasis sought protection from the High Court yesterday morning and accounting firm KPMG was appointed provisional liquidator. The 700 staff have been paid up to March 31.
All passenger services were suspended immediately, forcing the government to send staff to London and Vancouver to liaise with stranded passengers. An estimated 30,000 passengers are believed to be holding tickets for which they have paid a total of HK$300 million.
A flight from Vancouver, which landed in Hong Kong at about 10.30 last night, was the airline's last.
Cathay Pacific and British Airways are offering Oasis passengers on the London route concessionary prices. Ticket-holders can also contact Singapore Airlines for services to London, and Air Canada and China Airlines for the Vancouver route.
"KPMG will be looking for new investors for the airline in the next few days and we are very confident somebody will come forward," Oasis chief executive Stephen Miller said.
He did not specify why Oasis declared insolvency. Budget carrier AirAsia and various takeover funds were being touted last night by market observers as possible buyers of Oasis assets. However, AirAsia chief executive Tony Fernandes denied his budget carrier was interested.
KPMG head of restructuring services Edward Middleton said he had yet to evaluate the finances of Oasis and could not comment on media reports that losses had reached HK$1 billion.
A government source said last night the administration would consider measures to control bookings made well in advance. Airlines could be required to place a deposit in a fund before being allowed to take bookings for travel several months or even years ahead, the source said.

Hopes were high that Oasis, as a full-service airline, would help break the market dominance enjoyed by rival Cathay Pacific.

Returned yesterday from HK.
Had flown out on Oasis. Cost me some 720 uk pounds on BA for six month open return. There was nothing else left under this sort of money.
Our problem is/ was(Our company) block booked some 20 odd return flights with them in three named passengers up to september.
It worked brilliant until now. Had amassed great loyalty points etc. Feel sorry for staff as they had no idea this was going to happen.
ian1208

Rumour that Mr Li Kai Shing (5th richest man in the world) via Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd is trying to purchase Oasis Hong Kong ! Interesting to see that KPMG Administrator is still paying the pilots and flight attendants - very unusual.