Cathay Pacific Airways Limited (國泰航空有限公司 Pinyin (in Mandarin Chinese):Guótài Hángkōng Yŏuxiàn Gōngsī, abbreviated 國泰) is an Asian commercial airline based in Hong Kong. Their hub is in Hong Kong International Airport, or "Chek Lap Kok International Airport". Kai Tak International Airport was used before Chek Lap Kok was built.

The company flies around a million passengers a month to sixty-two destinations and carries around 80,000 tonnes of cargo through AHK (Air Hong Kong). In 2004 the airline had a turnover of HK$ 39,065 million and made a profit of HK$ 4,417 million. The operating fleet numbers 89 aircraft, a mixture of Airbus and Boeing aircraft, and employs 15,416 people (2004).

Code Data

• IATA Code: CX
• ICAO Code: CPA
• Callsign: Cathay

History

Cathay Pacific Airways was founded in Shanghai on September 24, 1946 by an American and an Australian, Roy Farrell and Sydney de Kantzow , both ex-air force. They had a single Douglas C-47. The company initially flew routes between Hong Kong, Sydney, Manila, Singapore, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. In 1948 Butterfield & Swires took a minority stake in the airline and soon came to have complete control over the day-to-day management, later acquiring 52% of Cathay Pacific. The airline is still part of the Swire Group through Swire Pacific.

The airline prospered into the 1960s, buying rival Hong Kong Airways in 1959, recording double digit growth until 1967, acquiring its first jet engined aircraft (Convair 880) and beginning international routes to airports in Japan. In 1966 the airline had carried a million passengers. Expansion continued throughout the 1970s and especially the 1980s, when an industry-wide boom encouraged route growth to many European centres and Cathay Pacific went public in 1986. The company was hurt by the Asian recession of the late 1990s, undergoing a reorganization and developing a new identity.

In 1996 the Chinese CITIC bought a 25% stake in Cathay Pacific. The Swire Group holding was reduced to 44% as two other Chinese companies, CNAC and CTS also bought substantial holdings.

Awards

Skytrax 5-star airlines Source World best airlines lounge Source

Fleet

Cathay Pacific's aircraft fleet of 86 planes are fitted with 3 classes of service (First, Business, and Economy) for long-haul flights, and 2 classes of service (Economy and Regional Business) for short-haul flights.

Services

see Cathay Pacific destinations

Cathay Pacific Cargo has launched daily freighter services from Hong Kong to Shanghai using Boeing 747-200F aircraft, making it the second mainland China city served after it resumed passenger services to Beijing in December 2004, after a 13 year break (ref: Airliner World, March 2005)

External Links

• Cathay Pacific
• Cathay Pacific Fleet Detail
• Cathay Pacific Passenger Opinions

See also

• List of Hong Kong companies