Hong Kong Airlines Christmas cutbacks

Hong Kong Airlines, part of the city's second-largest carrier grouping, said Christmas sales are down 10 percent from a year earlier as people cut back on vacation plans due to the recession.

"The economy affects people psychologically," spokesman Raymond Ng said yesterday. The company aims to revive sales by offering promotions, he added.

The carrier has reduced the size of its fleet and fired more than 20 cabin crew in the last two months, Ng said.

Hong Kong Airlines, controlled by the government of southern China's Hainan Province, plans to begin hiring again in July and August. The company will receive two or three of the Airbus SAS A330 it has on order next year, he said. The carrier has 30 A320s and 20 A330s on order, according to the Airbus Website.