Cathay Pacific at 80: From a DC-3 named Betsy to Hong Kong's global airline

Cathay Pacific's story starts with a used transport plane and two pilots who saw a business opportunity in postwar Asia. Eight decades later, its history runs through Hong Kong's rise as an aviation hub, the arrival of long-haul jets and a pandemic that forced painful changes across the company.

Hong Kong has remained the center of the business as the fleet, airport and corporate structure changed.

1946: Betsy and the founders#

American Roy Farrell and Australian Sydney de Kantzow founded Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong in 1946 after operating from Shanghai. Their name paired an old Western name for China, Cathay, with an ambition to cross the Pacific. As Swire's account of the founding explains, the ocean in the name was a statement of intent.

The first aircraft was a Douglas DC-3 nicknamed Betsy. Farrell had bought it in October 1945 for his charter operation. The partners registered their Hong Kong airline on September 24, 1946. Betsy later worked for other airlines before Swire bought it back and donated it to the Hong Kong Science Museum. Swire's history of Betsy traces that unlikely journey from working aircraft to museum exhibit.

In 1948, Swire acquired a 45% holding. Its corporate timeline records a fleet that had already grown beyond the original DC-3. The investment began a relationship that would shape Cathay's development.

Jets turn a regional airline outward#

Cathay acquired Hong Kong Airways in 1959 and introduced its first Convair 880 jet in 1962. By 1967, the fleet was entirely jet-powered. Its first dedicated freighter, a converted Boeing 707, followed in 1976.

The first Boeing 747 arrived in 1979. London Gatwick service began the next year, while the longer-range 747-400 joined in 1989. These milestones, recorded in Cathay's official history, trace the shift from regional flying to an intercontinental network.

The change reached the cabin too. Personal televisions appeared in first class in 1992, expanded to business class in 1994 and reached all cabins by 1996. Long-distance travel was becoming a product airlines could distinguish through both their routes and the experience on board.

A new airport and an alliance#

In 1998, Cathay moved from Kai Tak to the new airport at Chek Lap Kok. It operated the new airport's first commercial landing, a symbolic link between the city's old aviation home and its next chapter.

Another change was taking shape beyond Hong Kong. Cathay joined American Airlines, British Airways, Canadian Airlines and Qantas in announcing oneworld in September 1998. The alliance began offering services and benefits in February 1999, according to oneworld's milestone history.

For passengers, the alliance connected separate airlines through shared benefits and onward travel options. Cathay's international reach increasingly depended on partners as well as its own aircraft.

Dragonair, HK Express and a changing group#

Dragonair became a wholly owned Cathay subsidiary in 2006 as part of a wider shareholding realignment. It was later renamed Cathay Dragon.

In July 2019, Cathay completed its acquisition of HK Express, with the low-cost airline remaining a separate operation. The group now had different brands serving different parts of the travel market.

The pandemic brings a painful reset#

The pandemic broke that model's momentum. In October 2020, Cathay announced that Cathay Dragon would stop operating immediately.

Its restructuring announcement outlined the removal of about 8,500 positions. Around 2,600 were already vacant, leaving approximately 5,900 actual jobs affected. The plan also sought changes to employment terms for Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific crews.

Those figures belong alongside the aircraft milestones. Cathay's history includes the people who built its network and those whose livelihoods were disrupted when flying collapsed.

Eight decades, still rooted in Hong Kong#

Cathay opened its 80th-anniversary celebrations in January 2026 with a heritage green-and-white livery on an Airbus A350. The familiar stripes placed an older visual identity on a modern aircraft.

That pairing captures the airline's long history: repeated changes in technology and business strategy, tied to one home city. For more recent developments, see our Cathay Pacific coverage.

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