HK Express (UO, Hong Kong International) is considering adding widebody equipment to its fleet as a means of maximizing the use of slots at Asia's increasingly congested metropolitan airports.

In an interview with Reuters, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Andrew Cowen said that in addition to solving the problem of serving slot-constrained airfields, the addition of widebody aircraft would also enable HK Express to extend its network reach.

Though Cowen did not specify any timeframes insofar as widebody selection was concerned, he did name prospective models as the A330neo and A350 from Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) as well as the B787 from Boeing (BOE, Washington National).

“We haven’t made any firm decision,” he said. “We are just looking forward about different options and ways about meeting that market demand and strengthening our position in the market.”

A unit of HNA Group, HK Express operates a fleet of twelve A320ceo, three A320neo, and six A321ceo narrowbody aircraft on flights covering twenty-eight destinations in China, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, the Northern Mariana Islands, Cambodia, South Korea, and Taiwan.