Hong Kong Airlines is considering introducing used Boeing 787 Dreamliners to resume its intercontinental flights that were suspended in February 2020.

The Hong Kong-based airline launched transpacific operations in June 2016 with nonstop connections to San Franciscofollowed by Vancouver And Los Angeles in 2017. Due to the company’s financial problems at the time, long-haul operations were discontinued in February 2020 and the Airbus A350 fleet used for the intercontinental market was subsequently sold to other airlines.

The HNA Group airline plans to add at least three 787 aircraft by 2025 to resume its flights to North America. Jeff Jianfeng, CEO of Hong Kong Airlines Bloomberg reported. The airline is currently evaluating Vancouver, Los Angeles, Toronto and Seattle, with the last two being new markets for the airline.

Currently, United Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways and Air Canada offer flights between Hong Kong and North America. Before the pandemic, Singapore Airlines operated from San Francisco and American Airlines from Dallas/Fort Worth and Los Angeles.

The intention to resume long-haul flights follows Hong Kong’s $49 billion debt restructuring in 2022. This includes the costs of the failed attempt to reach intercontinental markets, a move that almost drove the airline into bankruptcy. Due to financial difficulties, the airline had to retire a large portion of its 53 aircraft.

By acquiring the used aircraft, the airline, which currently has an exclusively Airbus fleet, would become a new operator of wide-body aircraft manufactured by Boeing.