How Cathay Pacific’s aircraft liveries communicate our story

The jade-green tailfin, our brushwing logo – these design elements immediately distinguish the Cathay Pacific fleet on the tarmac. These now-iconic details didn’t always grace our aircraft – our liveries have evolved over the past 80 years, simultaneously charting Cathay Pacific’s growth into one of the most recognisable airline brands in the world.

Our story began in 1946, with a converted Douglas DC-3 affectionately nicknamed “Betsy”. Roy Farrell purchased this wartime aircraft to transport goods between Australia and China, with fellow wartime pilot Sydney de Kantzow soon joining the partnership. They had grander ambitions from the start: the name of their company, Cathay Pacific Airways, originated from Farrell’s belief that their planes would one day cross the vast expanse of the Pacific. The original Betsy aircraft had a bare-metal body with “Cathay Pacific Airways” emblazoned in red cursive lettering on the fuselage. 

In the 1960s, Cathay Pacific entered the Jet Age with an expanded fleet of midsized Convair 880 Jetliners sporting smart green-and-white liveries. The airline name printed on the fuselage was shortened to “Cathay Pacific” in red, upper-case lettering. These elements were retained in our legendary “lettuce leaf sandwich” livery, which defined our upgraded fleet of Lockheed L-1011 TriStars and Boeing 747s from the 1970s to the early 1990s. The tailfin was painted in alternating stripes of white and Brunswick green, resembling a stack of salad leaves. 

Former Cathay Pacific pilot Captain Colin Couch remembers flying these aircraft into Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Airport: “When you saw that iconic livery, you knew it was Cathay Pacific,” he says. “It must have been thrilling for the passengers as well, to fly in those green-and-white planes over Hong Kong’s buildings and land right in the heart of the city.”

As our route network expanded across Europe and North America in the 1990s, we needed a new look anchored to our proud identity as Hong Kong’s home carrier. In 1994, we debuted our brushwing logo, a symbol of flight rendered in a swooping calligraphic stroke that honours our Chinese heritage. We also swapped Brunswick green for the modern, elegant Cathay jade. 

In 2015, we unveiled a sleeker version of this livery, removing the red stripes from the tailfin and nose.

“Cathay’s story is inextricably tied to the history and people of Hong Kong,” says Edward Bell, General Manager Brand, Insights and Marketing Communications at Cathay. “Our signature brushwing livery is an expression of our deep roots in Hong Kong, being proudly part of the Chinese Mainland, and our role in connecting people to the rest of the world.” 

We’ve also celebrated our home city through special liveries over the past two decades. To mark the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in 1997, we launched the Spirit of Hong Kong livery, depicting the city’s famed skyline. In 2002, we introduced our Asia’s World City livery in support of Brand Hong Kong ’s campaign of the same name. This design featured a teal body printed with Brand Hong Kong’s fiery dragon logo as well as flowing lines representing the city’s flair and vitality.

As we commemorate our 80th anniversary, we’re introducing two new Cathay Pacific liveries: versions of our classic lettuce livery, giving you the chance to fly on a piece of aviation history. We’ll also be unveiling a third special livery later this year – stay tuned.