Cathay Pacific In 2010, Cathay Pacific and Cathay Pacific Cargo, together with Dragonair (rebranded Cathay Dragon), carried nearly 27 million passengers and over 1.8 million tons of cargo and mail. The airline was founded on 24 September 1946 by Australian Sydney H. de Kantzow and American Roy C. Farrell. The airline made the world's first non-stop transpolar flight flying over the North Pole in July 1998, which was also the maiden flight to arrive at the then new Hong Kong International Airport. The airline celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2006; and , its major shareholders are Swire Pacific and Air China. It
Cathay Pacific Cathay Pacific temporarily took over Philippine Airlines's domestic and international operations during its fourteen-day shutdown (from 26 September – 7 October 1998). The airline was hurt by the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s, but recorded a record HK$5 billion profit in 2000. On Monday, 6 July 1998, at 00:00 HKT, Kai Tak International Airport saw its last commercial departure, Cathay Pacific Flight 251 (a Boeing 747-400) to London Heathrow Airport, after over 73 years of operation. The next day, Cathay Pacific Flight 889 (a Boeing 747-400 from New York John F. Kennedy International Airport piloted by Captain Paul