Hong Kong’s Low Cost Carrier Showdown: HK Express vs. Greater Bay Airlines

Lately I’ve been trying to get more stuck into reviewing intra-European low-cost carriers, in order to give passengers an idea of what to expect. However, during my time back in Hong Kong this summer, I figured it’d only be responsible for me to review the two low-cost carriers that have emerged in the area. HK Express became a low-cost carrier 10 years ago, and in 2022 they were joined by Greater Bay Airlines, a subsidiary of mainland China-owned Donghai Airlines. Both airlines currently run Hong Kong’s low-cost carrier market, an increasingly lucrative market as travel habits in Hong Kong pick up for a younger crowd post-COVID.

So I flew HK Express from Manila to Hong Kong on Monday, and Greater Bay Airlines from Hong Kong to Bangkok this morning. I’ll write about both of them individually (including in a full review), though I wanted to share my first impressions by comparing how I found the two, “fresh” off both experiences.

Do note that I’m not doing a head-to-head comparison, especially because experiences can vary by origin/destination, time of year, and even on each specific flight. This is less of a “which should you choose” post, and more of a “what to expect when you book either airline” post.

HK Express vs. GBA Baggage, Pricing and Web Interface

HK Express and Greater Bay Airlines are both low-cost airlines, defined by the fact that they “unbundle” their onboard experience. Greater Bay Airlines offers a 7kg carry-on bag for all passengers, though check-in baggage is excluded for the cheapest fare bucket. HK Express takes fare buckets a bit further, where the cheapest fare bucket only includes an underseat bag.

I booked an HK Express Ultra Lite fare, which meant that I only could bring an underseat bag. I didn’t measure my backpack properly, though it did the trick. Nobody batted an eye when my dad put his duty free box in the overhead bin (he had an exit row seat, so he would’ve had to either way), and I think I would’ve been able to put my backpack there if I so pleased as well, if it were larger. The check-in counter simply asked if I was aware that I could only bring a personal item, and put a cabin baggage tag on my backpack without checking its dimensions. Meanwhile, Greater Bay Airlines didn’t check how heavy my carry-on was. I will specifically pass on warnings that this isn’t the case if you’re originating from Japan, where employees are typically much stricter.

Don’t take the piss, but HK Express didn’t check the dimensions of a single bag before my flight

Prices run low, though they do vary – the cheapest Greater Bay Airlines Hong Kong to Bangkok one-way I’ve ever found was HK$200 (~£20), though mine was a fair bit more expensive, clocking in at HK$700 for the cheapest fare bucket. Meanwhile, my Manila to Hong Kong base fare was HK$390/£39 (HK$158/£16 of which was taxes).

I’ll say this now – HK Express’ website and app are significantly easier to use than Greater Bay Airlines’. The latter airline hasn’t found the time yet to invest in the necessary features to make the app work well. Features that I struggled with included changing my seat during check-in (I couldn’t), or changing my pre-ordered buy-on-board meal option. After figuring that something was a must-try, I ended up just buying a second meal, and offered my first meal to the crew.

HK Express vs. GBA Ground Experience

Both airlines offer online check-in (albeit the process being much smoother on HK Express due to their interface). HK Express didn’t issue me a mobile boarding pass, and required me to have my document checked at the counter. Meanwhile, Greater Bay Airlines did issue me a mobile boarding pass, though I still had to get my documents checked at the gate (I received a “red” light at the gate, and had to be pulled aside for a document check).

Both airlines typically are relegated to “less” desirable gates at Hong Kong Airport – I was especially amused when my HK Express flight parked at a bus gate, and the bus brought us to the midfield terminal (which is a two-stop train ride away from the main immigration hall).

Don’t expect to be a short walk from the terminal when flying either airline

HK Express does have a very useful perk – you can purchase priority check-in and boarding on its own. The service is called “U-First”, and expedites the process by a lot. I originally only purchased the service for my dad and I so I could review the flight, though I couldn’t help but find that it was a steal – the check-in line at Ninoy Aquino airport was really long, though we were checked in within a matter of minutes. Best of all, the service cost HK$55 (£5.5). This is a bit of a moot point if you’re able to grab a mobile boarding pass or print it at a kiosk, though Ninoy Aquino Airport didn’t have this.

Greater Bay Airlines boards using a single queue, without zone numbers or priority boarding for anybody.

HK Express Boarding Gate at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Manila)

Greater Bay Airlines Boarding Gate

HK Express vs. GBA Cabin and Seat

HK Express has 30 narrowbody Airbus aircraft. There’s fairly good fleet consistency on the airline, as you’ll get one of two seats. I was on an older A321, which featured the Zodiac Aerospace Dragonfly seat (the A320neos and A321neos have a slightly different seat).

HK Express Airbus A321 Interior

Obviously these seats aren’t great, and they also felt a bit worn. However, seat pitch felt absolutely fine to me, and the seats reclined more than I was expecting.

HK Express Airbus A321 Interior

Meanwhile, Greater Bay Airlines has a bit more of a hodge-podge of seats depending on where they found their 737s, and how old they were. Their first three 737s were ex-Norwegian planes, they acquired one 737 from China Airlines (and refurbished the plane), and their remaining planes came from parent airline Donghai Airlines. Based on Google Images, the upholstery between aircraft doesn’t look particularly consistent.

On the lone ex-China Airlines 737 that I flew, the seats had evidently been replaced since GBA acquired the aircraft last year. These seats felt modern, sturdy, and clean.

Greater Bay Airlines 737 Interior

Upon further inspection, I actually believe most of the other aircraft feature some variant of Recaro’s BL3520 seat, though ours was an anomaly. Either way, legroom felt okay (on the tight side), and recline was almost nonexistent.

Greater Bay Airlines 737 Interior

Our Greater Bay Airlines 737 featured one USB-A port per passenger, whereas HK Express didn’t feature any in-seat power.

I have a preference for the A320 over the 737, as it’s wider – additionally, HK Express’ A320 felt more spacious. However, you won’t be flying either of these planes on particularly long flights, as both offer a shorthaul network.

HK Express vs. GBA Buy-On-Board Meals

Both HK Express and Greater Bay Airlines surprised me with their buy-on-board selection, which was much more substantial (and a lot better value) than anything you’d get on an airline intra-Europe.

HK Express has a partnership with Ging Sun Ho King of Bun for some of their buy-on-board meals. Since my dad and I were flying together, I actually decided to go to town with this buy-on-board menu – we ordered a few items, from a salted egg and minced pork rice, to a traditional pork chop rice, and I even decided to go for their shengzianbao. These varied in quality – the minced pork rice was tasty, and the shengzianbao was as good as it could be on an airplane, though the pork chop rice was less tasty. I also decided I might as well get some egg waffles, which were as you’d expect (quite soggy). I was still impressed that I was having traditional Hong Kong-style food on a low-cost airline, though. The entire order set me back HK$207 (~£21), which I felt was a pretty good value for the amount of food we ordered.

Feasting on HK Express’ A321

I even got a cute little instruction card for how to eat the shengjianbao.

HK Express Meal Instruction Card

Given that Greater Bay Airlines wasn’t hyping up their buy-on-board meal service in the same way, I was actually more surprised to find that they exceeded the quality of HK Express’ food, despite my chicken, mushroom and Chinese sausage meal only consisting of a single piece of Chinese sausage. This meal set me back HK$68 (~£7), around the same price as Hong Kong Express’ meals.

Greater Bay Airlines 737 Meal

Both airlines gave Lee Kum Kee soy sauce, which paired well with the food that I ordered. Either way, the value and quality of food on both airlines far surpassed anything I’ve seen intra-Europe. I’d even say that the quality exceeded regional competitors such as Scoot (I’ve yet to write my Jetstar Asia review, though they were pretty good, and their meals also surpassed expectations).

It’s worth noting that my 7:40 AM Greater Bay Airlines did a buy-on-board trolley service during the flight (and also passed out free water), whereas my 9:10 PM HK Express flight only provided meals and water on request. I’d look to pre-order if I wanted to eat on either airline – I’m not sure how many hot meals they provide onboard.

On a negative note, both airlines have a no outside food and beverages policy, which Greater Bay Airlines was particularly strict about.

HK Express vs. GBA Service and Ambience

I’m judging off one flight on each airline, though I felt like Greater Bay Airlines overall provided a more premium-feeling experience. Neither airline provided much crew-to-passenger interaction, though our Greater Bay Airlines crew were generally much more willing to help assisting passengers with putting bags in overhead bins. Both airlines addressed me by name when confirming my pre-ordered meal choice, though since I’d accidentally ordered two meals on Greater Bay Airlines, I was asked whether I wanted to have one meal after takeoff and one meal before landing. I was also handed a bottle of free water on Greater Bay Airlines, with no such benefit on HK Express.

While there were a good number of overseas Filipino workers onboard my HK Express flight, both airlines seemed heavily catered to the Hong Kong outbound leisure traveller, as opposed to highlighting the general east Asian region. I think the Greater Bay Airlines menu pictured below gives an idea of how “Hong Kong” the experience is. There were other Asian dishes available for pre-order (such as bibimbap on Greater Bay Airlines), though that clearly isn’t the highlight here.

Greater Bay Airlines Menu

Conclusion: HK Express vs. Greater Bay Airlines

While both HK Express and Greater Bay Airlines compete aggressively on price, both airlines provided more investment in their on-board experience than I was expecting. I’d say that HK Express felt more polished, though very low cost; whereas Greater Bay Airlines had more elements of a full-service carrier, though felt rough around the edges.

Do let me know if either airline has been unpleasant, or left a sour taste in your mouth in any way – I’d be keen to know both airlines more. I’m happy to have had the chance to have flown both airlines, and will publish a review soon.

Which low-cost Hong Kongese airline do you prefer?