HK Express (UO, Hong Kong International) will expand by a maximum of one new aircraft per year through 2024, significantly slower than the LCC had planned before its takeover by Cathay Pacific (CX, Hong Kong International), Forbes has reported citing Cathay chairman, John Slosar.

"I suspect by 2024 or so when the third runway system opens up in Hong Kong International, we’ll have twenty-six to thirty aircraft [at HK Express]," Slosar said at a Wings Club meeting.

According to the ch-aviation fleets module, the LCC currently operates twenty-four aircraft, including eight A320-200s, five A320-200neo, and eleven A321-200s. It had previously planned to grow its fleet to as many as 50 aircraft by 2018, although these plans were restricted by regulators wary of the airline's overly rapid growth.

Slosar also said that HK Express will start serving connecting passengers on joint itineraries with Cathay Pacific and its subsidiary Cathay Dragon (Hong Kong International). Currently, the LCC operates point-to-point flights only.