In July 1985, a Boeing 737-200A aircraft took off from Hong Kong International Airport – then located at Kai Tak on the Kowloon peninsula – to Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia. That flight marked the start of a new chapter in Hong Kong aviation, as it was the first commercial flight of Hong Kong Dragon Airlines, an entity that was to grow into Hong Kong’s international carrier known as Cathay Dragon.
Starting with one aircraft, Cathay Dragon now develops to an award-winning Hong Kong-based carrier owning more than forty aircraft, and with a network covering the most popular travel destinations as well as business ports in Asia Pacific region. Cathay Dragon is well-recognised by its passengers of its extensive network in China. Given the flourishing economy in Mainland cities and aviation hub synergy of Hong Kong, Cathay Dragon plays an increasingly important role in connecting passengers around the globe and the Mainland China.
Cathay Dragon is also the first local airline making investment in local pilot training. In late 1980s, the first generation pilot students joined the pilot training scheme and became the first batch locally born Chinese pilots. To date, over 150 cadets have successfully completed the scheme.
Cathay Dragon is a member of Cathay Pacific Group, affiliate member of oneworld® and partner of Asia Miles. There is much more to a successful airline than planes and destinations, however, and it is here that Cathay Dragon has really made its mark – through people who, day after day, contribute their passion, vision and hard work to building and maintaining Cathay Dragon’s reputation for reliability, friendliness, innovation and dynamism.
To find out more about Cathay Dragon, please see our milestones:-