HONG KONG, May 7 (Xinhuanet) -- Singapore budget airline Valuair launched daily flight service between Hong Kong and Singapore Friday, becoming the latest budget airline to operate out of Hong Kong International Airport.

    David Pang, chief executive officer of Hong Kong's Airport Authority, said, "Budget airlines are emerging rapidly on the business horizon, creating a new market segment of air travelers in this region. This will bring additional business opportunities to the aviation industry, including airports and the supporting economies."

    The CEO said "the addition of more airlines, low-fare and budget ones included, will help extend our extensive network and consolidate Hong Kong's position as a premier regional hub. We will continue to proactively attract more airlines to operate fromthis airport, to more destinations with more flights."

    Arthur Lim, executive director of Valuair, said "in choosing Hong Kong as one of our start-up destinations, we hope to help further expand the number of family, leisure and business travelers between the two cities."

    He said by offering lower fares, Valuair will increase passenger numbers and benefit the economies of Hong Kong and Singapore. "Hong Kong International Airport's efficient and customer-focused service has made our choice an easy and obvious one."

    Currently 75 airlines connect Hong Kong to over 140 destinations. Four low-fare and budget airlines, including Valuair,Cebu Pacific, Orient Thai and Australian Airlines operate from theairport.

    Howard Eng, airport management director, added that the AirportAuthority has been closely studying the market potential offered by low-fare/budget airlines, and is looking into ways to make HongKong International Airport an even more attractive airport for this category of airlines to operate from.

    He said low-fare and budget airlines operate routes of relatively shorter distances with a demand for quick turnaround time. As one of the most efficient airports in the region, Hong Kong International Airport is fully capable of supporting the operational needs of these airlines and adding value to their businesses. Enditem