Cathay Pacific

Cathay Pacific Airways Limited is the largest airline and flag carrier of Hong Kong. Based at Hong Kong International Airport, the airline's operations include scheduled passenger and cargo services to 120 destinations worldwide.
Cathay Pacific is one of only six airlines worldwide to carry a five-star rating from Skytrax. Cathay was named "Airline of the Year" in 2003 and 2005 by Skytrax and in 2006 by Air Transport World and OAG. Cathay Pacific is accredited by the IATA with the IOSA (IATA Operations Safety Audit) for safety practices. It is also a member of the Oneworld alliance.
Early years
Cathay Pacific Airways was founded in Hong Kong on 24 September 1946 by American Roy Farrell and Australian Sydney de Kantzow. Both men were ex-air force pilots who had flown The Hump, a route over the Himalayan Mountains. Each man put up HK$1 to register the airline. Although initially based in Shanghai, the two men moved to Hong Kong to found Cathay Pacific Airways. They named it "Cathay" because it was the Medieval name given to China, derived from "Khitan", and "Pacific" because Farrell speculated that they would one day fly across the Pacific. The Chinese name for the company comes from a Chinese idiom meaning "Grand and Peaceful State".
According to legend, the airline was conceived by Farrell and some foreign correspondents at the bar of the Manila Hotel. On Cathay Pacific's maiden voyage, Roy Farrell and Sydney de Kantzow flew from Hong Kong to Manila, and later on to Shanghai. They had a single Douglas DC-3, nicknamed Betsy. The airline initially flew routes between Hong Kong, Sydney, Manila, Singapore, Shanghai, and Canton, while scheduled service was limited to Bangkok, Manila, and Singapore 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 today the airline is still 40% owned by the Swire Group through Swire Pacific.

Expansion in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s
The airline prospered into the 1960s, buying rival Hong Kong Airways in 1959, carrying its one millionth passenger in 1964, recording double digit growth from 1962 to 1967, acquiring its first jet engined aircraft (Convair 880), and beginning international routes to airports in Japan. In the 1970s, Cathay Pacific installed a computerised reservation system and flight simulators. In 1979, Cathay Pacific acquired its first Boeing 747 and applied for traffic rights to begin flying to London. Expansion continued into the 1980s, when an industry-wide boom encouraged route growth to many European and North American centres. In 1986, Cathay Pacific went public.

The 1990s
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. During the early 1990s, Cathay Pacific launched a programme to upgrade passenger service. Also, the green and white striped livery was replaced with the current "brushstroke" livery. Cathay Pacific began a US$9 billion fleet replacement program during the mid-1990s that resulted with Cathay Pacific having one of the youngest airline fleets in the world. In 1996, CITIC bought a 25% stake in Cathay Pacific while the Swire Group holding was reduced to 44% as two other Chinese companies, CNAC and CTS also bought substantial holdings.
In 1997, administration of Hong Kong was transferred from the UK to the People's Republic of China. Most of Cathay Pacific's aircraft were registered in Hong Kong and bore a registration beginning with "VR". Under the terms of an agreement within the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group (JLG), registration was changed by December, 1997 to the prefix "B", which is used by the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China (Taiwan). Cathay Pacific aircraft formerly carried a painted Union Jack on the tail but these were removed several years before the 1997 takeover.
In September 1998, Cathay Pacific became a founding member of the Oneworld alliance. In 1999, they completed their new headquarters, named Cathay City, which is located at Hong Kong International Airport. Cathay Pacific was hurt by the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s, but recorded a record HK$5 billion profit in 2000.

The 49'ers - industrial troubles
Cathay Pacific sacked 49 of its 1,500 pilots on July 9, 2001; hence, they are known as "the 49ers" (though total dismissals and downgrades subsequent totalled 62). About half of the fired pilots were captains, or 5 percent of the total pilot group. But of the 21 officers of the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association (HKAOA), 9 were fired, including four of the seven union negotiators.
"The firing was pure intimidation, a union-bust straight up, designed to be random enough to put the fear in all pilots that they might be next, no reason given," says Capt. Nigel Demery, president of the HKAOA (and also Hong Kong-ALPA, the IFALPA affiliate of all Hong Kong based flight crew members.)
A later head of the HKAOA, Captain Murray Gardner, is said to have favoured a more soft line approach to dealing with management and indeed workplace relations between the two groups have been largely conciliatory since 2002.
Cathay offered the 49 pilots it sacked in 2001 the chance to reapply for pilot positions with its cargo division, guaranteeing such applicants first interviews, subject to passing psychometric testing. In the event, 19 applied and 12 were offered jobs.

Acquisition of Dragonair
On 9 June 2006, Cathay Pacific underwent a shareholding realignment under which Dragonair became wholly owned by Cathay Pacific but continued to operate under its own brand. Air China, and its subsidiary, CNAC Limited, acquired a 17.5% stake in Cathay Pacific, and Cathay Pacific doubled its shareholding in Air China to 20%. CITIC reduced its shareholding to 17.5%, and Swire reduced its shareholding to 40%.

Present
To celebrate the airline's 60th anniversary in 2006 a year of roadshows named the "Cathay Pacific 60th Anniversary Skyshow" was held where the public could see the developments of the airline, play games, meet some of the airline's staff, and view vintage uniforms. Cathay Pacific also introduced anniversary merchandise and in-flight meals served by famous restaurants in Hong Kong in collaboration with the celebrations. In 2007 Cathay Pacific and Dragonair carried more than 23 million passengers.
In June 2008, Cathay Pacific agreed to pay a portion of $504 million in fines levied by the U.S. Justice Department related to cargo price fixing.

**WWW.WIKIPEDIA.ORG