On January 31, Dragonair welcomed the agreement to substantially liberalise air services between Hong Kong and major Japanese cities with the exception of Tokyo. Under the new agreement these services will no longer be subject to capacity restrictions.

"We believe this is a significant achievement that will generate more traffic between Hong Kong and Japan and further strengthen ties between the two places. The new agreement will also provide a further boost for the Hong Kong hub," said Dragonair Chief Executive Officer Kenny Tang.

"As a Hong Kong carrier operating services to Japan we welcome any further opportunities that arise from this liberalisation. I would like to thank the Hong Kong SAR Government for their hard work in securing this agreement and we look forward to the outcome of the next round of talks."

Dragonair currently operates a daily passenger flight to Fukuoka and a three-times-weekly service to the city of Sendai. The airline also operates six scheduled freighter services to Osaka each week.