Cathay Pacific USA | Cathay Pacific Airways: Six Decades of Service Exhibition

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Cathay Pacific Airways: Six Decades of Service Exhibition

Cathay Pacific Airways and San Francisco Airport Museums cordially invite you to view the Cathay Pacific Airways: Six Decades of Service Exhibition. Experience Cathay Pacific’s history of achievements through six decades of growth from a small carrier to one of the most renowned international luxury airlines.

DATE

Wednesday, April 16, 2008 – Friday, September 5, 2008

VENUE

San Francisco Airport Museums • Aviation Library and Museum

Located at the Int’l Terminal, pre-screening boarding Area A, no airline ticket needed. For map & directions, click here.

10:00 AM to 4:30 PM Sunday – Friday
Closed Saturdays and Holidays
No admission charge; open free to the public.

In 1946, Roy C. Farrell, an American pilot who had flown for the China National Aviation Corporation (CNAC) during World War II, saw a business opportunity in bringing much needed goods to post-war China. He formed the Roy C. Farrell Import–Export Company in Shanghai with two surplus C–47
transport airplanes—a U.S. military version of the Douglas DC–3—named Betsy and Nikki. Fellow CNAC pilot Sydney H. de Kantzow, an Australian, soon joined him. Their operation proved profitable and they were soon flying cargo throughout Southeast Asia and to Sydney, Australia.

That summer they relocated to Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Airport and formed a new company to provide passenger and freight service throughout the region. They named it Cathay Pacific Airways Limited combining an early name for China and the neighboring ocean they hoped the airline would one day cross.

The airline’s rapid success in Hong Kong led to a restructuring partnership in 1948 with Butterfield & Swire—a London–based shipping and passenger liner company with historic ties to the British colony—and Australian National Airways.

In the following decades, Cathay Pacific’s growth included a merger with Hong Kong Airways in 1959, and route expansion into Europe, the Middle East, and North America. Earning a reputation for superior service, comfort, and unique style, the airline continues to attract a large and loyal customer base as it operates across three oceans and four continents.

Today Cathay Pacific Airways Limited is a world-recognized, award-winning leader in passenger service and airfreight. It operates one of the airline industry’s largest all wide-body jet fleets to 120 destinations worldwide. This exhibition celebrates Cathay Pacific’s achievements and traces its history through six decades of growth from a small regional airline to one of the most successful international carriers in air transportation.