City Of Flight

Cathay Pacific’s Hong Kong headquarters is the heartbeat of a great global airline

- Freddy Sherman

Serving 197 destinations in 48 countries and territories around the planet, Cathay Pacific is truly a worldwide airline. Each hour of every day, 365 days a year, 19 Cathay Pacific planes take off. All those take-offs and landings are made possible by the airline’s approximately 33,000 staff members, about 26,000 of whom are based at the airline’s Hong Kong global base of operations.

More that just a headquarters, Cathay Pacific has its own city, named appropriately enough, Cathay Pacific City. The ten-acre complex sits on the southeast corner of Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok Airport and includes some 1.3 million square feet of space. Aside from hangars and service areas for aircraft, there are three ten-story office buildings and a 23-story private hotel.

Before flying home from Hong Kong on a recent Asian adventure, I had a chance to take the ultimate avgeek’s tour, visiting the various operational departments to see how it all works and how all those flights take-off and land on schedule, day in and day out.

The City

Like any city, Cathay Pacific City offers a range of services to its residents, regardless of how temporary their stay there may be. There’s a bank, a gym (with full basketball courts and a pool), a nightclub, a grocery store, laundromat, multiple restaurants and cafes. There’s even a hotel that’s only open to Cathay Pacific employees. The hotel is for visiting staff who come to Hong Kong to train as well as cabin crew and flight crew members transitioning through.

Cathay Pacific City also has its own medical and dental facilities and offices. Many of the stores and services are available or open 24 hours a day to work with the airline’s round-the-clock operations.

Safety Training Center