Chinese carrier Cathay Pacific is rolling out retro “lettuce leaf” liveries on an Airbus A350 and a Boeing 747 Freighter to mark 80 years in commercial service.
The Hong Kong-based carrier revealed the paint scheme on an A350 registered as CX870, which embarked on a flight from Hong Kong that landed in San Francisco at 09:30 on 6 January.
Cathay Pacific says the A350 with the nostalgic livery will be operated on the round-trip Hong Kong-San Francisco route six times weekly.
The interior of the widebody jet also recently received a refresh. It has been configured with Cathay Pacific’s new Aria Suite business class, premium economy and economy products.
Meanwhile, one of Cathay Pacific’s 747 Freighters will be adorned with the retro livery in “coming weeks”, the airline says.
The airline says it will celebrate the 80-year anniversary of its first operations in 1946 throughout the year, with retro uniforms to be donned by 1,000-2,000 members of Cathay Pacific’s cabin crew.
In the bigger picture, Cathay Group chief executive Ronald Lam says the airline company’s commitment to invest HK$100 billion ($13 billion) ”into our fleet, cabin products, lounges and digital innovation” over the next several years will help it navigate further into the 21st century.
Cathay Pacific was formed by a pair of former World War II fighter pilots – one American and one Australian – who saw demand for a cargo and charter carrier in post-war Hong Kong. Early operations launched with a lone Douglas DC-3.
Now, the airline operates more than 160 Airbus and Boeing widebody jets and 16 A321 narrowbody jets, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
It is the latest global airline to reach a major anniversary, with American Airlines also recently rolling out special liveries marking 100 years of flight. Last year, Delta Air Lines celebrated the same milestone.
