A view from above: 80 years of Cathay Pacific history

The story begins – 1946

At the end of the Second World War, Roy Farrell bought a single Douglas DC-3 plane, nicknamed “Betsy”, to fly goods from Australia to China, with fellow ex-Air Force pilot Sydney de Kantzow soon joining the operation. Cathay Pacific was born. The headquarters of Cathay Pacific Airways was located at 1 Connaught Road Central.

In 1947, Sydney de Kantzow, his wife Angela and many others witnessed the inaugural Catalina (flying boat) service to Macao.

One year later, in 1948, Swire entered the picture, forging a partnership that would define the airline’s trajectory for decades to come.

We have a growth spurt – 1950s-60s

In 1959, we introduced two Lockheed Electras to our fleet – the first aircraft to feature both First class and Economy passenger cabins – and steadily added routes to Japan and Australia, becoming a truly regional airline.

Entering the jet age – 1960s

The arrival of the Convair 880 jet in 1962 allowed us to spread our wings to more destinations. That same year, our uniforms received a stylish upgrade.

Going long-haul – 1970s-80s

We began operating the Lockheed Tristar jet in the mid-1970s, eventually becoming its largest operator outside the US.

The 747

We acquired our first Boeing 747 in 1979. The “jumbo jet” would go on to propel Cathay Pacific from regional carrier to global player with a long-haul network.

In April 1982, we bought our first Boeing 747 freighter from British Airways, re-registered as VR-HVY. Today, Cathay Cargo operates 20 of these aircraft.

A modern airline – 1990s

We remained at Kai Tak airport in Kowloon City (which opened when entrepreneurs Ho Kai and Au Tak raised money to reclaim land from Victoria Harbour) until the opening of Chek Lap Kok Airport on Lantau Island.

On 5 July 1998, the final landing at Kai Tak took place – a Dragonair flight from Chongqing – while the final departure was a Cathay Pacific flight to London Heathrow. On 6 July, the CX889 “Polar One” flight, operated by a Boeing 747-400, became the first scheduled commercial flight to land at Hong Kong’s new airport. It was also the longest non-stop commercial flight ever and the first non-stop passenger flight from New York to Hong Kong. By the end of 1999, the new airport had handled nearly 29 million passengers.

Personal seatback TVs were introduced to First class in 1992, extending to Business in 1994 and all cabins by 1996. This gave passengers access to six channels with movies, documentaries and video clips in English, Cantonese, Mandarin and Japanese.

Arriving at the future – 2000 and beyond

In 2015, we introduced the now-iconic Cathay Pacific brushwing logo. In 2016, we said goodbye to our Boeing 747-400 passenger fleet, with tickets selling out in minutes for the final flight. In 2024, we introduced refreshed Premium Economy and Economy cabins on our redesigned Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

This year, Cathay Pacific marks 80 Years Together – eight decades of serving our customers.