Total passenger traffic had reached over four million and the last of its Boeing aircraft were retired. In 2014, Hong Kong Airlines launched new passenger routes between Hong Kong and Ho Chi Minh City, Tianjin and Kagoshima; they also increased daily flight frequency to Beijing and Shanghai. The airline's lounge service was relaunched as "Club Bauhinia" on 27 June 2014. In February 2015, Hong Kong Airlines signed a sub-lease with the Airport Authority Hong Kong to develop a flight training center on a plot near the southeast perimeter of the Hong Kong International Airport. In March 2015, the airline joined the Executive Committee of the Board of Airline Representatives in Hong Kong (BAR HK), holding hands with another almost 80 airlines to improve the commercial and operational conditions for airlines active in Hong Kong. On 28 December 2015, Hong Kong Airlines flight HX658 bound for Okinawa became the first departure from the HKIA Midfield Concourse (MFC). 2016–2018: Seeking intercontinental expansion In April 2017, the firm's air cargo business in Hong Kong was set up as an independent subsidiary cargo airline of Hong Kong (Hong Kong Air Cargo), having received its operator's licence from the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department. In June 2017, Skytrax ranked Hong Kong Airlines second-best regional airline and 24th best internationally. On 8 August 2017, Atlas Air announced that it had placed three 747-400 freighters with Hong Kong Air Cargo, the airline's cargo subsidiary. The first aircraft was to enter service in September 2017, serving routes between the United States and Asia. Delivery of the remaining two aircraft was anticipated during 2018. All three aircraft were to be operated by Atlas Air on behalf of Hong Kong Air Cargo. In September 2017, Hong Kong Airlines took delivery of its first Airbus A350-900, which shortly began service to and from Bangkok (BKK). The company also launched its "Club Autus" VIP lounge at the HKIA Midfield Concourse. On 18 December 2017, Hong Kong Airlines started operating a direct flight to Los Angeles with the A350-900 aircraft, and direct flights to San Francisco followed three months later. 2018–Present : Economic hardship and scaling back In late 2018, both co-chairmen, Mung and Zhang Kui, resigned, as did the airline's vice-chairman and CFO. Former vice-president and chief marketing officer of Hainan Airlines, Hou Wei, took over as chairman in November 2018. The attempted expansion was draining the company financially, and in March