(n commercial
Airline based in
Hong Kong and operating scheduled passenger and cargo services to 90 destinations world-wide. Its main base is
Hong Kong International Airport , otherwise known as Chek Lap Kok.
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, who each put up HK$1 to register the airline. According to legend, the airline was conceived by Farrell and some foreign correspondents at the bar of the
Manila Hotel . They had a single
Douglas C-47 . The company initially flew routes between
Hong Kong ,
Sydney ,
Manila ,
Singapore ,
Shanghai , and
Guangzhou , while scheduled service was limited to Manila, Singapore and
Bangkok only. In 1948 Butterfield & Swire bought 45% of Cathay Pacific, with
Australian National Airways taking 35% and Farrell and de Kantzow taking 10% each. The new company began operations on
1 July 1948 and was registered as Cathay Pacific Airways (1948) Ltd on
18 October 1948 . Swire later acquired 52% of Cathay Pacific and the airline is still part of the
Swire Group through Swire Pacific.
The airline prospered into the 1960s, buying rival Hong Kong Airways in 1959, recording double digit growth until 1967, acquiring its first jet engined aircraft (
Convair 880 ) and beginning international routes to airports in
Japan . In 1966 the airline had carried a million passengers. Expansion continued throughout the 1970s and especially the 1980s, when an industry-wide boom encouraged route growth to many
Europe an centres and Cathay Pacific went public in 1986. In January 1990, Cathay Pacific and its parent company Swire Pacific acquired a significant shareholding in
Dragonair , and a 60% stake in cargo airline
Air Hong Kong . The company was hurt by the
Asian Recession of the late 1990s, undergoing a reorganization and developing a new identity.
In 1996 the Chinese
CITIC bought a 25% stake in Cathay Pacific. The
Swire Group holding was reduced to 44% as two other Chinese companies, CNAC and CTS also bought substantial holdings. In September 1998 Cathay Pacific became a founder member of the
world alliance.
In 2004 the airline had a turnover of
HK$ 39,065 million and made a profit of HK$ 4,417 million. The airline is now owned by Swire Group (45.11%) and Citic Pacific (25.4%) and has 15,040 employees (at January 2005).
Cathay Pacific was named in 2003 and 2005 by
Skytrax survey. The airline was also awarded with Best First Class, Best First Class Lounge (Hong Kong), and Best Business Class Lounge (Hong Kong) by
Skytrax .
Source
Also, the airline is named by Air Transport World (ATW).
Source
- Cathay Pacific's PTV system is called StudioCX.
- PTV is available in all classes and on all flights. Passengers in all classes can choose from more than 20 different video channels. Ten interactive games are available on all long-haul flights.
- Audio/Video on Demand (AVOD) service is available for all First and Business Class passengers on all long-haul flights.
- StudioCX provides many programmes and films mainly in Cantonese and English with some programmes in Mandarin, Korean and Japanese. On selected routes there are also many English-language movies with alternative soundtracks in a broad range of European and Asian languages.
- The StudioCX system is being upgraded in all classes and the first aircraft featuring the upgraded system (an A330-300) is already in service. AVOD is not available in Economy Class even with the upgraded system.
- Starting from February 2006, first and business class passengers travelling on long-haul flights operated by Cathay Pacific will be given a wider range of entertainment choices. The selection will include 50 movies and 100 TV shows, almost 50 percent more than before, available on demand.
- Discovery , a magazine which got prizes before, provide information on its flight and different places in the world.
- There are over 22 audio channels
- There are over 100 CD albums in 11 genres for First & Business Class Passengers
- English, Cantonese, Mandarin and Japanese are available in all flights.
- Korean, Thai, Hindi, Tagalog and Bahasa Malaysia are available in some flights only.
Reference:
Cathay Pacific Website
- 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 2003, after a 13 year break (ref: Airliner World, March 2005).
- The first flight to land at the new Hong Kong International Airport , Chek Lap Kok, was the Cathay Pacific flight CX6889 from New York JFK Airport, USA, non-stop and flying over the North Pole, which arrived at 06:30am Hong Kong time at July 6, 1998. This flight was named . This flight path has now become the main route from the U.S. East Coast to Asia. The non-stop route from Hong Kong to New York JFK over the North Pole (CX830/831) became fully operational on 1 July 2004 with A340-600 aircraft. It is Cathay Pacific's longest direct flight, lasting for 16 hours.
- After 25 years of operating flights to London, Cathay Pacific announced on June 27, 2005 the addition of a fourth daily non-stop flight to the British capital. The new service have begun on December 1, 2005 and is operating by an Airbus A340-300 in a three class configuration.
- On August 1st 2005, Cathay Pacific added a third daily non-stop service to Los Angeles.
- On November 1st 2005, Cathay Pacific have added a second daily non-stop flight to and from Jakarta. This new service is operated by an Airbus A330-300 (two class configuration). The current one-stop service to Jakarta via Singapore have been discontinued.
- On December 7, 2005, Cathay Pacific announced it will strengthen Hong Kong and Europe's connections with a daily service to Rome, starting March 27, 2006. Cathay Pacific is the only airline that operates direct flights to Italy from Hong Kong.
- On 29 Mar, 2006, Cathay Pacific annouced it will launch its first freighter service to Chennai, starting 2 June 2006.
Cathay Pacific network is expanding rapidly with many codeshare links from world hubs such as American Airlines'
Chicago O'Hare ,
Dallas/Fort Worth ,
Los Angeles , and British Airways'
London Heathrow .
Cathay Pacific has also started to codeshare on France SNCF TGV Trains from Aéroport Charles-de-Gaulle TGV Station to ten French cities.
Recently, Cathay Pacific and
British Airways have expanded their codeshare agreement.
Zurich has been added to one of the Cathay Pacific's codeshare destinations.
- The following are codeshare partners and codeshare links of Cathay Pacific:
- --- Air China : Cathay Pacific is currently codesharing with Air China on flights between Hong Kong and Beijing. Cathay Pacific has a 10% equity holding in Air China.
- --- Aeroflot : The launch of Cathay Pacific's service to Moscow is postponed. The airline continues to put its "CX" code on Aeroflot's four flights weekly between Hong Kong and Moscow.
- --- American Airlines (world member): Cathay Pacific puts its code on American Airlines' flights to more than 20 US cities from American Airlines' hubs including Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth and New York.
- --- British Airways (world member): British Airways carries the "CX" code to more than 15 European cities from London Heathrow. Cathay Pacific also carries the "BA" code from Hong Kong to some South Asian and Australiasian destinations such as Denpasar (Bali) and Auckland.
- --- Iberia Airlines (world member): Cathay Pacific codeshares on Iberia's flights from Amsterdam to Madrid and from London to Barcelona. In return, Iberia puts its "IB" code on Cathay Pacific's flights between Amsterdam (CX270/271 - IB7762/7763), London (CX250/251 - IB7760/7761) and Hong Kong.
- --- Japan Airlines (world member-to-be): Cathay Pacific codeshares with Japan Airlines from Hong Kong to Fukuoka, Nagoya and Osaka.
- --- Malaysia Airlines : Cathay Pacific codeshares with Malaysia Airlines on flights between Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Penang.
- --- Qantas (world member): Cathay Pacific carries "QF" code from Hong Kong to Rome. However, there is no codeshare agreement for flights between Hong Kong and Australia.
- ---, Lille , Lyon , Marseille , Montpellier , Nantes , Poitiers , St-Pierre des Corps / Tours and Valence .
- ---.
- --- Vietnam Airlines : Cathay Pacific codeshares with Vietnam Airlines on all flights between Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.
Generally, flight numbers are allocated according to geographical regions:
Cathay Pacific's aircraft fleet of 96 planes is fitted with 3 classes of service (First, Business, and Economy) for long-haul flights, and 2 classes of service (Regional Business and Economy) for short-haul flights.
At April 2006 the average age of the Cathay Pacific fleet is 9.9 years.
On
July 29 2005 , Cathay Pacific took delivery of its 95th aircraft, an
Airbus A330-300 aircraft, which is equipped with new-generation entertainment system. Cathay Pacific has 3 more Airbus A330-300s on firm order, and a new
Boeing 777-300 , and will also be adding to its fleet 5 used
747-400 s. These used Boeing 747-400 are primarily ex-Singapore Airlines 747s. By September 2006, Cathay's 60th anniversary, the fleet size will reach 100 aircraft.
On
December 1 ,
2005 , Cathay Pacific announced one of its biggest aircraft order in its history, ordering 16
777-300ER aircraft (12 from
Boeing and 4 on lease from
ILFC to be delivered between September
2007 and July
2010 , plus options on 20 more of the type. The airline intends to use the 777-300ERs to displace existing A340-600s, some of which are early models with payload limitations. Cathay Pacific also ordered 3 more
Airbus A330-300 from Airbus the same day, with the delivery of the aircraft in 2008. There has also being talks about the Airbus A380 which they may place orders in the future.
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Since its foundation in 1946, Cathay Pacific had operated many fleet types. Types of aircraft that had been in service with Cathay Pacific are
Douglas DC-3 ,
Douglas DC-4 ,
Douglas DC-6 ,
Convair 880 ,
Boeing 707 -320,
Boeing 747-200 ,
Boeing 747-300 ,
Airbus A340-200 (leased from Philippine Airlines for 3 years before delivery of A340-300) and
Lockheed L-1011 -100 (Tristar). In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Cathay Pacific was the largest operator of Lockheed Tristar outside
USA .
Cathay Pacific has 2 programmes, the first being The Marco Polo Club ("The Club") and
Asia Miles . The Marco Polo Club allows members exclusive benefits.
Asia Miles is a separate travel reward programme that comprises a variety of airlines and hotel partners in Asia, as well as credit / charge card companies, car rental agencies, telecommunication companies and other non-airline partners. Members of 'The Club' are automatically enrolled as
Asia Miles members.
Source:
Asia Miles-Home
