Airline Profile: Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific is an international airline based and registered in Hong Kong, providing scheduled passenger and cargo services to more than 110 destinations in 35 countries throughout Asia, and in North America, Europe, Australasia, the Middle East and Africa.
Associated airlines include Dragonair, which offers connections between to over 25 cities in China and elsewhere in Asia, and all-cargo carrier Air Hong Kong, which operates scheduled services to Europe, the Middle East and Japan.
History
Cathay was founded by American Roy Farrell and Australian Sydney de Kantzow, who each put up HK$1 to register the airline in 1946. In 1948 Butterfield & Swire bought 45% of Cathay Pacific, with Australian National Airways taking 35 per cent and Farrell and de Kantzow 10 per cent each. The new company began operations on 1 July 1948 and was registered as Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd on 18 October.
In January 1990, Cathay Pacific and its parent company Swire Pacific acquired a significant shareholding in Dragonair, Cathay also holds a 60 per cent stake in cargo airline Air Hong Kong and just over 18 per cent of Air China.
In September 1998 Cathay Pacific became a founder member of the oneworld Alliance, and in September 2006 acquired Dragonair, which became a wholly owned subsidiary, but will continue to operate in its own right.
Cathay's other subsidiary and associated companies include Cathay Pacific Catering Services (HK) Ltd, Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company Limited (HAECO), Abacus Distribution Systems (Hong Kong) Limited and, Securair Limited.
The airline also has an interest in Taikoo (Tiamen) Aircraft Engineering Company (TAECO) in Xiamen.
The airline is a member of the Swire Group which is publicly listed on the Hong Kong and London Stock Exchanges.
Fleet
- 32x Airbus A330
- 15x Airbus A340
- 36x Boeing 747
- 27x Boeing 777
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